Living Among the Dead
by Shadow of the Forgotten
Summary: Chelsea's been searching for her brother since shortly after the dead began to roam the earth, but a chance encounter with two strangers gives her hope that maybe there's more to life than just surviving.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own The Walking Dead or anything affiliated with said series.

* * *

The only good thing about the end of the world is that no one has to pretend anymore. You can be the person you truly are, the devil you always hid deep down inside, because it no longer matters. Survival is the only thing people care about now, not how you look or act, it's all about living another day. So go ahead, shed that façade you've kept up all your life and live the way you were truly meant to. Just remember, you're not the only one breaking free from your shell and chances are you're going to run into someone who's got an even darker side than you.

In this world where the dead come back and prey on the living, it's the one's still breathing you truly need to worry about.

Trust no one but yourself and you might just live to see tomorrow . . . words to live by.

ooooo

A branch breaking on the ground some thirty feet below caused Chelsea's eyes to snap open as she woke from her slumber with a start. She'd never been a heavy sleeper to begin with, but nowadays it took little more than leaves rustling gently in the wind to wake her up. Not that she was complaining it came in quite handy now that the dead roamed the earth.

Sticking her head over the edge of her makeshift hammock, she glanced down to see what had caused the noise and released the breath she'd been holding when she found it was only a deer. She'd chosen this particular tree because of its dense foliage, wanting as much cover as possible as she slept, but it was quite a ways away from other trees which would make escape difficult had the deer been one of those walking corpses.

Watching the animal as it ate from a nearby bush, she decided it was time to get moving before the dead came running. She contemplated killing the deer and taking part of the meat with her to cook later but quickly tossed that idea aside. Her bag was already overburdened with the supplies she'd recently picked up and the extra weight would only slow her down.

Untying her backpack from the tree, she released the hooks on her hammock and stuffed the material into its sack before slipping the bag on her back. Her belt was next, it having also been tied to the tree within arm's reach, and after making sure the two machetes and hunting knife were secure she slipped her compound bow over her shoulder and began to carefully make her way back to the ground.

The deer had bolted as soon as she'd started packing and the forest had become eerily silent once more. She wasn't all that bothered by it at this point though, one becomes accustomed to many things after awhile. As soon as her feet touched the ground she did a quick check to make sure everything was secure before tying her shoulder length brown hair up in a tight ponytail and quietly heading off in the direction of the rising sun.

When everything had started some time back Chelsea had been working at a dead-end job she hated. She'd spent her free time alone reading or wandering in the woods away from the noise of the city, so when things began to fall apart around her it didn't really bother her all that much.

She'd checked in on her parents when things got really bad, but didn't end up staying very long as they had decided before she'd arrived that they were too old to deal with the new world and had made plans to hunker down in their basement until things either got better or they died of starvation.

While she was there they'd asked her to find her younger brother and make sure he and his family were safe since they hadn't heard from him in some time. Having already planned on it she'd agreed without hesitation, though she could've done without being forced to listen to the whole 'you're the oldest' spiel.

After saying farewell she'd raided what her brother jokingly referred to as 'the armory', a large closet filled with an assortment of weapons and outdoor survival gear, packed up some essentials and headed out.

Surviving on her own hadn't been all that difficult all things considered. Sure she'd run into groups of the dead more often than she would've liked, but one good hit and they were down for good. Instead she'd found it was the living she needed to be wary of. Not that she went out of her way to find people or anything, but sometimes she'd stumble upon someone and offer to share a meal or something.

It hadn't taken long to figure out that there weren't many good people left out there anymore. More often than not she found herself being attacked for her possessions, and in some cases her body, and the more that happened the less she helped those she met along the way.

A few hours after she'd started walking Chelsea found a small stream where she refilled her water bottles. Deciding it was safe enough she stripped off her tank top and cargo pants and washed some of the week's worth of sweat and grime from her body.

She'd just finished getting dressed when she heard the screams.

Fully intending to ignore the noise, nothing good ever came from helping anyone, she pulled her bag back onto her back and started heading in the opposite direction to avoid the dead that were sure to come running at the sound.

She'd made it a total of ten feet before the crying started and something about it tugged at what little remained of her heart. Grumbling under her breath about stupid ideas and getting herself killed, she turned on her heel and raced off in the direction the noise was coming from with a muttered, "Fuck it."

It didn't take her long to find the source of the disturbance and she took in the sight before her with a shake of her head. A woman with short brown hair was standing over a body hacking at what had to be at least thirty-five of the walking dead. She was screaming for help and Chelsea narrowed her eyes when she realized that there was another man in their group who'd apparently decided it wasn't worth helping them as he'd jumped into a nearby car and peeled off, tires squealing in his haste.

"Asshole," she hissed as she dropped her backpack on the roof of the small blue car next to her and pulled her bow off her shoulder. Notching an arrow, she pulled back the string while muttering, "And this is why I travel alone."

Watching as Jacob drove off Maggie was certain that this was the end. They'd been hesitant to take the new guy on a supply run in the first place, but Deanna had assured them he'd be an asset. So much for her ability to read people. Bashing in the head of the walker closest to her she repositioned her body so she was covering Glenn better and prayed that he'd wake up soon and help her out of this mess.

Of course that didn't seem likely with the blow he'd taken to the head a few minutes before, but at this point she had nothing else to hope for. It wasn't like someone was going to suddenly show up out of nowhere and save them. The world just didn't work that way, not anymore.

The crowd of corpses had nearly closed in around the pair and Chelsea debated with herself for another second before deciding to hell with it. If the two of them turned out to be as bad as the rest of the people she'd run into she'd send them to hell without hesitation, but anyone willing to risk their life for an injured friend couldn't be all that bad.

Letting the arrow fly, she had another one ready to go in seconds knowing she'd have to make things quick. It wouldn't be long before they were overrun.

In less than a minute she'd taken out a dozen, dropping her bow and slipping her blades out of their sheaths as she ran out of arrows. She could still hear the woman screaming, her voice taking on that desperate quality of one who knows they've reached their end, and she picked up her pace. "Hey, you in there!" she shouted over the groaning mass. "I'm coming in to help so please try not to take my head off."

Maggie's arm was so tired it felt like it was about to fall off and there seemed to be no end in sight. "I'm sorry Glenn," she whispered through tears as she yanked her blade out of a walker's skull. "I tried, but I'm just not strong enough to save us this time."

Letting her arm fall to her side she was about to drop to her knees next to him when she heard a female voice call out. Blinking in shock, she looked up in time to see a walker's mouth nearing her face and she summoned every last ounce of strength she had left to take it out.

Knowing that there was someone nearby helping gave Maggie the extra push she needed and she found she was miraculously still in one piece when the walkers had finally been dealt with. Staring at the blood covered woman who'd come to their rescue she ran over and embraced her without a second thought. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she cried, crushing the taller woman against her.

Chelsea patted the other woman's back awkwardly before gently pushing her away. "You're welcome. Is your friend all right?"

A low groan had Maggie spinning around and dropping to the ground near Glenn's head. "Glenn, sweetie, are you okay? Speak to me baby." Running a hand through his dark hair, she smiled when he slowly blinked his eyes open and looked up at her in confusion.

"What the hell happened?" he groaned, rubbing a hand over his face before attempting to sit up. "The last thing I remember is yelling at Jacob not to open that door."

"He panicked when that walker came in and knocked a bookcase over on top of you and tried to escape through it. When I tried hauling you out to the car a large group of them overtook us."

Glancing around Glenn noticed the lack of vehicle and frowned. "The bastard left us didn't he?" he growled angrily, and seeing Maggie's frown he released a long string of curses that had Chelsea wondering if perhaps he'd been a sailor before the world ended.

"Well you two seem to be just fine so I'll be on my way now," she said as she slipped her blades back into their holders. Turning around she began the arduous task of retrieving her arrows from the dead she'd dropped earlier.

"Wait," Maggie called out as she helped Glenn to his feet. "How can we ever repay you . . . ?"

Without looking up from what she was doing she replied, "My name's Chelsea, and you've already thanked me, that's more than enough."

"Are you sure there's nothing you need? Food, water . . . a hot shower?"

Chelsea's ears perked up at that last one but she refused to let it show. Nothing was offered for free, and despite the fact that she'd just saved their lives it was a very real possibility that they were simply trying to get her to let her guard down. "I'm good."

Glenn raised his hand to silence Maggie when she opened her mouth to try again. "Alright, but if you ever change your mind head east about twenty miles until you come across a large walled community. My name is Glenn and this is Maggie, ask for either of us at the gate and we'll get you whatever you need."

Tipping her head in acknowledgment, Chelsea pulled back on her pack and tossed her bow over her shoulder. "I'll think about it."

As she turned to leave Maggie called out, "We'll leave a light on for you!"

Waving her hand, Chelsea headed back into the woods to continue on her journey.

"Do you think she'll come?" Maggie asked once she was out of sight.

Glenn shrugged. "Who knows. She looks like someone who's been on her own for awhile so walking into a place filled with strangers is likely a terrifying thought. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

ooooo

Chelsea had been walking for almost an hour trying to figure out what she was going to do next before making camp. The plan had always been to keep heading east in a straight line, more or less, but after hearing about the community nearby she was starting to rethink that idea. In order to avoid the possibility of being spotted by one of the people living there she'd have to go many miles out of her way which would add days to her already long journey. Having to take a detour so close to the end was pissing her off but it couldn't be helped.

"Dammit, I knew I should've stayed out of it," she muttered angrily to herself as she followed a small stream deeper into the forest. "This is what I get for sticking my nose into things that are none of my concern."

Ducking under a low hanging branch she replayed their conversation over in her head in an attempt to piece together everything she could about this _home_ of theirs. Unfortunately they hadn't given her much to go on, no mention of how many inhabitants or how well armored they were, nothing more than a vague 'large community' comment. Just what the hell did that mean anyway?

Rubbing the bridge of her nose, a habit she'd picked up from her father, she let out a frustrated sigh. "Maybe I'll head south for a few weeks before going back east, just to be on the safe side."

Having come to a decision she changed direction and was all set to get on her way when Maggie's last comment popped into her head. She hadn't thought much of it at the time, but thinking back it was a strange thing to say considering there hadn't been power anywhere for quite some time. _I suppose she could've been referring to a torch or something. But then why word it that way?_

The more she thought about it the more she began to wonder if perhaps she'd meant it literally. And if that were the case then that meant they actually had power. _No, there's no way,_ she thought with a shake of her head. _Electricity doesn't exist in this world._

However, over the next several days no matter how hard she tried she couldn't get the idea out of her head, and in the end she decided it was worth looking into . . . just in case it turned out to be true. Not that she actually believed it was mind you, but she hadn't heard music since shortly after things went to hell and if there was even the slightest chance of being able to charge her mp3 player she wasn't going to let it pass her by.

So she'd turned around and headed back the way she'd come, being careful to stay off the beaten path as she made her way in the direction the two had mentioned.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own The Walking Dead or anything affiliated with said series.

* * *

A little over a week after saving a couple of complete strangers Chelsea found herself looking down at a high metal wall that ran around a fairly large housing complex. There was no doubt in her mind that she'd found the place the two had been talking about.

Not wanting to walk into a trap she'd spent a full day walking around the outside of the wall looking for anything suspicious, but other than the sounds of children playing and laughter, which made her feel like she'd stepped into the twilight zone, nothing about the place screamed dangerous.

Since she definitely didn't want to walk up to the gate at night, people tended to be even more trigger happy when it got dark out, she set up her hammock in a tree a mile or so away and grabbed some shut eye. Something told her she was going to need all her strength in the morning.

When the sun came up at dawn the next day Chelsea was already packing her things away. Figuring the best way to avoid being attacked for her supplies was to not have any on her she'd left her bag, bow, gun and spare blades tied up in the tree out of sight. Sure that meant she was walking in there practically naked, but at least if it _was_ a trap they wouldn't be getting much of value.

Hopping to the ground she checked to make sure her machetes were secure before slipping a small hunting knife into her left boot. With one last look around to make sure she could find her things again if she ever made it back, she took a deep breath and began the short trek to the front gate.

Seeing as she wasn't exactly sure what kind of welcome they gave to strangers she raised her hands to show she wasn't holding a weapon as she neared the main entrance, certain that someone was watching her from somewhere.

"You there," a man barked out. "State your business."

"I'm looking for Glenn or Maggie," Chelsea replied, coming to a stop about ten feet from the gate. "I was told I could find them here."

"Hold on a second."

She could hear the man conversing with someone else, but they were careful to keep quite so she wasn't able to make out what they were saying. The sound of a gun cocking, however, that she heard loud and clear.

Wondering if she'd made a terrible mistake she was just about to turn tail and run when the gate was forced open and she spotted the young woman she'd met a week earlier.

"Chelsea!" Maggie called with a smile. "I'm glad to see you decided to come. Glenn's going to be so surprised to see you."

The man she'd talked to through the gate gave her a curious glance before stepping aside in what was obviously a welcoming gesture, but Chelsea stayed where she was. At least until Maggie came forward and grabbed her hand, at that point she had no choice but to follow the other woman inside.

"Now I know you're probably a bit nervous about meeting everyone, but don't worry. Everyone here's very friendly. I'm sure you'll warm up to us in no time."

Chelsea raised an eyebrow at Maggie before shaking her head. "I'm not here to stay," she began. "I only came because of something you said." When the dark haired woman cocked her head curiously she continued. "You said you'd keep a light on, does that mean you have . . . power?"

"Power, running water, you name it," another voice spoke up from behind them and Chelsea spun around so fast that Maggie was forced to release her if she didn't want her arm to be yanked off.

The man who'd spoken wore some kind of police uniform and though he looked completely relaxed she could tell he was on constant alert. "The name's Rick, welcome to Alexandria . . . ?"

"Chelsea," she replied as several more people joined them. Beginning to feel a tad claustrophobic she clenched her hands against her sides to keep herself from pulling out her blades, knowing that doing so would be a _very_ bad idea.

"It's nice to meet you Chelsea," Rick said, the smile on his face widening as he held out his hand.

She really had no desire to act friendly with any of them, that wasn't why she was there, but with all eyes focused on her Chelsea forced herself to shake the offered hand.

"Now I don't want to upset you or anything, but we have a no weapon policy here," Rick began as he eyed the machetes at her waist. "So if you want to stick around inside the wall you're going to have to hand over those blades."

A part of her wanted to say hell no and get out of there while she still had the chance, but they had power and hot water, two things she hadn't had in so very long, and if all it took to use them was giving up her weapons for a few hours she was willing to take that deal. Besides, from the look of things most of the people inside the wall would be easy to take out if necessary. Other than the cop and an older woman with short graying hair most of them looked as though they hadn't even touched a weapon. Of course there was also Maggie and Glenn to think about, but she figured that they'd let her go without a fight because of their history together.

Nodding her head, she removed the belt from around her waist and handed the blades over to Rick, her hunting knife following soon after. "Now, where's this power you mentioned?"

When Maggie took Chelsea's hand again Rick quickly spoke up. "Hold on a second, I've got a couple of questions to ask you before you head off." Seeing her turn her attention back to him he cleared his throat before continuing. "How many walkers have you killed?" At the look of confusion on her face he motioned towards the gate and added, "You know, the dead."

Chelsea shrugged. "Who knows. I stopped counting after the first couple hundred."

"And how many people have you killed?"

"As many as I needed to."

Rick had expected an answer like that, she seemed like the type of person who wasn't afraid to fight back when the situation called for it, but it was the last question which would determine whether or not she'd need to be watched. "Why?" Her face hardened and he couldn't help but wonder what exactly she'd gone through out there.

". . . survival."

It was obvious that she wasn't going to say anything more and Rick looked around at the rest of the group that had gathered. Most of them were from Alexandria, but he spotted Carol, and Glenn who'd just shown up, as well as Maggie and saw nothing that led him to believe they were against the idea of letting her stay. Of course even if one of them did have a problem they still owed the woman for her help, but it was nice to know they were okay with it all that same.

"Well alright then."

As Maggie drug her off once again Chelsea couldn't help but feel like she'd passed some sort of test and wondered if that was something they did with everyone or if she was special. When they reached a house a little ways down the street and she was ushered inside she decided that it didn't matter either way. Who cared what they thought, it wasn't like she was planning on sticking around.

"This house is empty but the water's still on so you can use the shower upstairs," Maggie said as she pushed open the front door of the three story house. "There isn't any power here since no one's using the place, but if you want to give me whatever you've got I can get it plugged in for you while you get cleaned up."

Chelsea didn't much care for the idea of handing over her music player, but the sooner it got some juice the sooner she could leave so she pulled the small device and cord out of her back pocket and handed it over.

"Up the stairs, second door on your right."

With a smile that was far too cheerful in this day and age Maggie disappeared out the door and Chelsea found herself alone at last. Her eyes drifted around the open entryway and she marveled at the fact that even an unused place around here was dust free. She hadn't been anywhere this clean since she'd left her house ages ago.

Curious though she was, she'd spotted several bookcases in the living room and was itching to browse through the titles, she walked up the stairs and towards the bathroom. As with the rest of the house the room was spotless and she almost felt bad when she discarded her filthy clothes on the shiny tile floor. When she turned on the water and felt the warmth running over her fingers she stopped thinking entirely.

ooooo

Daryl took the stairs two at a time grumbling about running errands for some stranger. He'd been over at Aaron and Eric's house working on the bike when he'd heard the commotion and eventually his curiosity had gotten the better of him.

Now he regretted ever leaving the garage.

When he'd found Rick and the others in front of one of the still empty houses he raised an eyebrow in question. "What're ya'll doin' out here?"

"Glenn and Maggie's guardian angel decided to stop by for a visit," Rick replied. "Interesting character that one."

"Ya think he's gonna stay?"

Rick opened his mouth to correct the other man, but Carol beat him to it.

"Not sure yet, but the least we can do is offer some friendly hospitality. _He_ saved two of our own after all." Shooting Rick a look that promised death if he said a word, she gave Daryl a smile. "Why don't you go take our guest some clothes, something a bit smaller than your size will do."

"Yeah, I'm sure _he'll_ be thrilled to put on something clean for a change," Glenn snickered, earning an elbow to the ribs from Maggie.

Something was going on with them, Daryl could feel it in his bones, but he couldn't figure out what was bothering him and soon gave up. "Sure, I'll grab 'im somethin' from the supply room."

As he walked away he swore he heard laughter coming from behind him, but when he looked back they were all just talking.

And that was how he found himself standing outside the bathroom door with some worn out blue jeans and an old black t-shirt in his arms. Not bothering to knock, they were both guys anyway so what did it matter, he shoved the door open while saying, "Brought ya some clothes, sorry if they don't . . ." Trailing off he stared in shock at the naked back in front of him.

"Thanks, just set them on the counter," the most definitely female voice said over her shoulder as she continued to towel dry her hair.

A dark flush spread across Daryl's face and he quickly dropped the clothes, stuttering an apology as he bolted from the room.

Storming back outside he glared at the group in front of him who weren't even trying to contain their amusement. "The hell! Why didn't ya'll tell me it was a woman?"

"If you'd bothered to pay attention when Maggie and I were talking about her you'd already know," Glenn said between laughs. "Man, I wish I could've seen the look on your face when you saw her for the first time."

Daryl's face turned bright red and Glenn looked at him curiously before his eyes went wide. "Don't tell me you walked in on her."

It suddenly became silent and Carol turned a questioning gaze on him. "Oh god, you didn't." When even his ears became a bright shade of red she nearly doubled over in laughter.

Daryl looked ready to explode and Rick cleared his throat. "I wouldn't worry about it," he somehow managed to say with a straight face. "She doesn't strike me as the type of person to get upset over an accidental peek."

"That's not the point dammit!" Daryl snapped.

The laughing began anew and he was two seconds away from knocking them all on their asses when the woman in question came strolling out.

Flinching as she came to a stop a few feet from him he waited to see what she'd do next and was surprised when she barely acknowledged his presence.

"Thanks for the shower, it's been awhile since I had warm water," Chelsea said, pulling her still damp hair up into a ponytail. "Now if you'd kindly take me to my things I'll be on my way."

"Why don't you stick around for lunch," Carol offered. "Give that device of yours longer to charge before heading back out."

Looking from one face to another Chelsea saw hopeful and welcoming smiles and she slowly nodded her head in agreement. She didn't trust them, but it had been so long since she'd heard anything other than the sound of nature and the living dead, and the prospect of having a full charge was too much to pass up. Plus it would be nice to eat something she didn't have to cook for a change.

Maggie grinned. "Lunch it is then."

Chelsea had been a little worried that people would crowd around her as she followed the group towards a nearby house, but when they arrived it appeared as though it was only going to be a small gathering. Along with the older woman who'd introduced herself as Carol, Rick, Glenn, Maggie and the nervous redneck who refused to look her in the eye whose name she'd eventually learned was Daryl, she was also introduced to a black woman named Michonne who was dressed in a similar outfit to Rick.

There was talk of another woman named Sasha, but apparently she spent most of her time in the tower by the main gate keeping watch so she never actually met her.

Rick left soon after the meal was served, spaghetti with garlic bread which Chelsea practically inhaled, to visit a blonde woman down the street and Michonne only stuck around long enough to grab a couple of plates before heading off towards the gate.

As Chelsea watched other people walk by it became obvious that this group was a tight-knit family and though they were sharing the same space as the rest of the inhabitants of the community they were still wary of them. Not afraid, but definitely aware of every move the other people made.

"So how long have you been out there on your own?" Maggie asked once she'd finished her serving of food. She and Glenn had sat down next to each other on the porch swing and she cuddled into his side as she waited for an answer.

Chelsea had been content to listen to them talk amongst themselves and had hoped that they'd continue to leave her out of the conversation, but no such luck. Setting her plate next to where she leaned against the railing she gave a half shrug. "Not entirely sure to be honest. Haven't bothered to keep track of the days for a long time. Started out shortly after everything went to hell, so however long ago that was."

"And you've been by yourself this whole time?" Glenn asked curiously. Seeing her nod he whistled lowly. "Damn, that's impressive."

Looking around Chelsea couldn't help but ask, "What about you guys, when did you all meet up?"

"Some of us have been together basically since the beginning, others we've picked up along the way," Carol replied as she stood up and began to gather the dirty dishes. "Seems like we've been together forever some days though."

Pushing herself to her feet, Chelsea wiped her hands on her pants and turned to Maggie. "Thanks for the food, it was delicious, but I've got to get going before it gets too much later. Don't want to be out there when it gets dark."

Nodding her head, Maggie stood up while saying, "Give me a second and I'll get your stuff from inside."

"Are you sure you don't want to stick around for the night?" Glenn asked once Maggie had gone inside. "We've got more than enough space if you decide you want to stay."

"Thanks but no thanks," Chelsea replied with a shake of her head. "I'm sure you're all really nice people, but the fact is I don't know a damn thing about any of you and I'd rather not wake up to find a knife hovering above my throat."

"If we wanted ya dead we'da killed ya before ya even set foot inside the wall," Daryl bit out. "Do ya honestly think we'd stoop so low as ta offer sanctuary ta someone just so we could kill 'em in their sleep?"

Back before the world as she knew it ended she probably would've felt bad for upsetting him, now she barely even registered it. Instead she brushed his question aside with a noncommittal shrug. "Who can say. But I've met more than my fair share of monsters since this whole thing started so forgive me if I don't believe anything you say."

Crossing his arms over his chest Daryl opened his mouth to let her have it when he felt Carol's hand on his arm. Glancing over at her he clamped his mouth shut when she shook her head firmly.

"Let it go," she murmured softly before holding up a small sack and smiling. "Here, some leftovers for the road."

Taking the bag, Chelsea tipped her head while muttering, "Thanks."

Moments later Maggie stepped back out onto the porch. "One fully charged music player," she said as she held out the small device. When Chelsea took it and stuffed it into a pocket she added, "Whenever you need another charge feel free to stop back and we'll get you all squared away."

"I'll remember that. Now would you mind telling me where I can find my weapons?"

When Maggie moved towards the steps Carol held out her hand to stop her and said, "Daryl will take you, won't you Daryl?"

To be honest he had no desire to spend any more time with the woman after what she'd said earlier, but the look on Carol's face said he'd be sorry if he tried to back out of it. "Fine. Follow me." Without bothering to make sure she was behind him he leaped over the railing and took off down the street.

Once they were gone Maggie turned to Carol with a questioning look on her face. "What was that all about? Are you trying to piss him off or something?"

Carol shook her head. "Nothing like that, but something tells me that woman will be back eventually and if I'm right I think those two should work things out before she leaves. If they don't, things will be very difficult, for all of us, when she decides to stick around for good."

"You really think she'll be back?" Glenn asked curiously. "She didn't seem all that interested to me."

Watching as the pair turned the corner and disappeared from sight Carol turned back to face the two next to her. "Not now, and maybe not for some time, but I've got a feeling that she'll return here eventually. Call it gut instinct."

"Well I think it would be great if she came back," Maggie said. "I like her, and not just because she saved us. She's a good person and there's not too many of those left in the world anymore. Plus, we could use another fighter with her skills. You should've seen her out there Carol, she's nearly as good a shot as Daryl with her bow and I bet she could take on Michonne with a blade any day."

"That doesn't surprise me, it takes a lot to survive on your own for so long."

ooooo

Daryl kept his eyes glued to the ground in front of him and clenched his teeth to keep from saying anything that would likely cause a fight. Why he let Carol bully him into things was beyond him.

After a few hundred feet or so he realized that he couldn't hear her behind him so he lifted his gaze and blinked in shock when he found her walking beside him. He hadn't heard her approach at all.

More than a little impressed, it took serious skill to walk that silently, he allowed himself to really look at her for the first time. Ever since catching her naked he'd been far too embarrassed to do more than glance in her direction so he didn't actually know what she looked like.

The clothes he'd found for her were a bit loose, not enough to fall off or anything but they hid most of the figure he knew she had, but it was her face that drew his attention. She had short brown hair that she'd tied back and her face would've been considered beautiful if she didn't have such a serious expression on it. Not that he could blame her; he tended to look that way most of the time himself.

He must've been staring for longer than he thought because he suddenly found himself looking into her dark eyes and he felt a blush creep over his face again. Without thinking he blurted out, "Sorry 'bout earlier. Didn't mean ta walk in on ya like that."

Chelsea waved his apology aside. "No big deal. There's no such thing as modesty anymore anyway, not in this world, but if it'll make you feel better you could always strip and let me see your naked ass."

When he sputtered she couldn't help but laugh. "Relax, I was only kidding. But seriously, forget about it. Quite a few people I don't know have seen me without clothes on at this point. Of course most of them never lived to talk about it, but then they'd tried to do _more_ than just look."

The last part had been muttered under her breath and Daryl was fairly certain she hadn't meant for him to hear it so he made no comment as he led her towards the weapons locker at the gate. Pushing open the door, he motioned her inside.

Spotting her machetes on a table near the door Chelsea quickly returned them to their rightful places and instantly felt herself relax. She wasn't used to being weaponless and it was good to feel the familiar weight around her waist once more. Slipping her knife into the back of her pants for easy access she rejoined Daryl outside.

"Get everything?"

"Yep." When he closed the door and moved to open the gate she added, "Tell everyone thanks again for me will you." Seeing him nod she stepped out and gave him a smirk and a mock salute before turning on her heel and heading back into the woods.

Daryl watched her until the trees swallowed her up and then made sure the gate was closed and latched. A quick tug showed that it was indeed secure, but instead of heading back to the house he decided to go and finish working on the bike. He'd had enough of dealing with people for awhile.

ooooo

It didn't take Chelsea long to make it back to her tree, not with as fast as she'd been going, and in no time at all she had shimmied her way back up the branches and curled up in her hammock. Wrapping a blanket around her body she pulled out her mp3 player and gently placed the ear buds in her ears. Pressing the power button she watched as the screen lit up and smiled when she began to scroll through her playlists.

Picking something random, at this point it didn't matter what she listened to so long as it was music, she closed her eyes and pressed play.

For the first time in a very long time she slept without a care in the world.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own The Walking Dead or anything affiliated with said series.

* * *

The next morning Chelsea was tempted to stay in bed all day so she could reacquaint herself with all the songs she'd long thought she'd forgotten, but didn't want to burn through the battery too fast. With great difficulty she forced herself to pack her mp3 player away for the time being and instead got to work planning the next leg of her trip.

Once she'd gone over her maps and made an inventory of her remaining supplies, a quick glance at her watch told her it was well after noon and she figured she'd better get going if she wanted to cover a decent amount of ground by nightfall. Making quick work of her things she was on the ground and ready to go in less than ten minutes.

Having decided to head back to the road and follow it for a ways she began walking in that direction when an all too familiar sound reached her ears. The dead were nearby.

Grumbling in annoyance, she was having such a wonderful day so far and they just had to come and ruin it, she dropped her bag on the ground and tiptoed in their direction.

She'd met some people on her journey who left them alone unless they were being attacked, and others who went out of their way to hunt them for sport, but in her opinion it was always a good idea to get rid of them when you had the chance since you never knew what was going to happen next. That and she just didn't like the idea of those _things_ wandering around near her, gave her the creeps.

Ducking underneath a low hanging branch she spotted her targets tearing into what had likely been a deer. There were six of them crowding around the dead animal and she found herself trying to remember what Rick had called them. _Walkers_ , she thought suddenly, pleased with herself for figuring it out so quickly.

Slipping her machetes out of their sheaths she took a deep breath and then took off running.

The first two she dispatched with ease, yanking her blades from their skulls before the others had even realized she was there. A quick spin around had the third one down, half of his head missing. However, now that the element of surprise was gone she wound up nearly surrounded and skipped backwards a few steps to keep them at arm's length.

A hand reached for her and she sliced it off, giving the now one armed corpse a hard kick to the chest to push him back. With a couple of well placed jabs the other two went down, unfortunately her machetes went with them as the weapons refused to budge from where they were lodged in their heads.

Yanking her knife out of her boot she danced around the last one that was still standing until she managed to get close enough to shove the blade up under his chin.

Breathing heavily, and covered with a fair amount of blood despite the fact that she basically only hit them in the head, she grabbed her weapons and wiped them clean with part of one of the walker's shirts. When she was finished she tucked them back into their places and took off towards the small stream she'd spotted on her way back the night before. There was no way she was going to walk around covered in filth unless she absolutely had to.

Sometime later she found herself back at her pack, and after seeing it was already the afternoon decided there was no point in getting started on her trip today. Instead she ate the last of the food Carol had sent with her and found a new tree about fifteen minutes away to make camp in.

When she got her hammock in place and everything tied down she curled up with her blanket and stared off at the horizon, something she often found herself doing in the evenings. As time passed she felt her eyelids begin to droop and she dozed off as the sun sank beneath the hills.

ooooo

Having slept in and then gone to bed early Chelsea spent most of the night drifting in and out of sleep and in the morning found herself wishing for coffee even though she'd never cared for the stuff. Slapping her face to wake herself up she froze when she heard something moving below her.

With a sense of déjà vu she peeked out over her hammock to see Daryl taking down a rabbit from thirty yards out with a crossbow and ran a hand over her face with a groan. "Just my luck." she muttered under her breath as she saw him saunter over to claim his prize.

She hadn't really paid attention to him back at Alexandria, but watching him now reminded her so much of her brother. He'd enjoyed hunting as well when he was younger and she'd often gone out to keep him company on his trips, though her time was spent watching the animals and picking on him whenever he missed a shot.

Frowning as more memories came rushing to the surface she took a deep breath and forced all thoughts of him back into the deepest recesses of her mind. Until she knew what happened to him and his family she felt it was best to think of him as little as possible. It helped to keep her from breaking down.

Returning her focus to the man on the ground, she was pleased to see that he still had no idea she was only a couple dozen feet above his head and she took immense pride in the fact that she was quiet enough to evade detection from someone who looked quite at home in the wilderness.

Giving herself a mental pat on the back she contemplated what she should do next. She could remain where she was and he'd never be the wiser, or she could have a little fun with him.

Her decision brought a wicked smile to her face and she barely managed to stop herself from laughing out loud at the plan that had formed in her head.

As stealthily as possible she slipped her bow from the makeshift holder she'd built for it with her things and ever so slowly notched an arrow. Originally her target had been the rabbit he was gutting, but a sudden sound drew her attention to the left and she let the arrow fly the moment she spotted the walker making its way towards them.

Daryl had almost finished dealing with his catch when the crunching of leaves nearby brought him to high alert, his hand automatically reaching for his crossbow. You can imagine his surprise when the walker he'd been searching for dropped to the ground with an arrow sticking out of its right eye moments after he'd finally found it.

Not knowing where the arrow had come from he ran his eyes over the surrounding forest while very slowly releasing his grip on his weapon. He had no desire to be shot at and being armed tended to cause people to shoot first and ask questions later.

"You can relax," Chelsea called down to him as she reattached her bow to the tree. "It was only me."

Following the voice, Daryl looked up at the woman camped out in the tree a short distance away and snapped angrily, "Christ woman, ya nearly gave me a heart attack! What are ya, stupid? Don't do shit like that!"

"Oh my, did I frighten poor little hunter boy by taking out the big scary dead man? Forgive me for saving your ass, next time I'll make sure to stay out of it."

Growling at her flippant response, he clenched his hand so tightly he could feel what little fingernails he had left digging into his skin. "The hell? Ya got no clue how ta behave 'round livin' people no more, do ya?" he bit out. "Spent so much time on yer own ya forgot what it is ta be human, is that it? That why ya had ta off so many of 'em?"

She hadn't meant to upset him, but after saving his life she'd expected some kind of thanks not a verbal attack, and had lashed out without thinking. Okay, so messing with him probably hadn't been the smartest of moves, tensions always ran high when one was out on their own, but he didn't need to go off on her like that. A simple reprimand would've been just fine, but it was much too late for that now. He'd gone and pissed her off and she wasn't one to back down from anything, least of all a fight with some loudmouthed asshole.

"Human? No one's human anymore," Chelsea replied with a snort. "Not me and most certainly not you. We're all monsters, we have to be or we die that's a simple fact of life. You and your _family_ can hide behind those walls of yours and attempt to recreate your life before things went to shit, but nothing will ever be the same. Once that change is forced out of you there's no going back. From now until the day you die you're nothing more than an animal fighting for survival."

"God knows I've done horrible things I never would've considered doing if the world hadn't gone to hell, but I don't regret it and I'm not the least bit sorry. I did what I had to and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, the only times I've ever wished I could go back and change something were when I was helping someone. So no, I don't know how to be _human_ anymore. I know how to survive, be it against the dead or the living, and you'd do well to remember that."

Opening his mouth, Daryl allowed it to slowly close when he realized he had no clue what to say to that. In truth he hadn't really been all that upset with her about killing the walker, he'd snapped because he'd been afraid. Contrary to popular belief, the thought of being caught unaware by some random psycho did in fact scare the shit out of him. But he'd learned from a very young age that fear was hazardous to his health so he'd channeled it into anger like usual which was the main reason he'd been so furious with her. Now, however, he was starting to think that perhaps he'd gone a bit overboard. She did kill the walker after all. Not that he'd needed help with that mind you, but calling her stupid and implying she was less than human could definitely be considered overkill.

Running a hand through his long brown hair he took a deep breath and released it slowly before speaking. "Look, 'm sorry 'bout goin' off on ya like that. I shouldn't a been so hard on ya."

Chelsea was seriously tempted to tell him to go to hell, but in all fairness she was partially to blame. Actually if she was being honest it was pretty much all her fault since she was the one who started it, but there was no way she was going to let him off the hook. Not with the way he'd spoken to her.

"I'd say it was no big deal but we both know that I'd be lying, so instead I'm just going to pretend the last five minutes never happened. That work for you hunter boy?"

Raising an eyebrow at the nickname, that was the second time she'd called him that, Daryl decided it wasn't worth arguing about and nodded his head. "Sounds good."

"Alright then."

They stared at each other in silence for a few minutes until finally Chelsea couldn't take it anymore. "You do know we're done here, right?" she asked, wondering why in the world he was still standing there. "Shouldn't you be taking your dinner and heading home?"

Ignoring her questions Daryl asked one of his own. "Why are ya out here by yourself? I know that everyone ends up alone at some point, but ya act as if ya chose this. Why would someone like ya go wanderin' 'round without someone ta watch yer back? Ya got a death wish or somthin'?"

Usually whenever someone asked her something like that she'd either brush them off or make up some kind of story, but something about the tone of his voice made her want to answer him honestly. Everyone else had always had an ulterior motive for wanting to know, hence the reason she never told them the real reason, this man on the other hand, he sounded genuinely curious.

Figuring it wasn't going to hurt to tell the truth this one time she shook her head. "If I had a death wish I'd already be dead," she replied seriously. "But in answer to your question, the reason I'm alone is because I found out rather quickly once the dead came back to life that those I thought I knew could no longer be trusted and I decided that the only people who I'd ever allow to 'watch my back', as you put it, would be my immediate family."

"They dead?"

"My parents are by now I'm sure," she said with a touch of indifference, a clear sign that she'd seen so much death it hardly fazed her anymore. "I left them on the west coast a few months after all this started and doubt they lasted much more than half a year before they either offed themselves or died of starvation."

He could sense that there was something more she was planning on saying so when she remained quiet he decided to help her along. "Husband, boyfriend, kids?" he asked, figuring it had to be one of those since she seemed so hesitant to speak about it.

Snorting, Chelsea shook her head. "Hell no. I wasn't ready to settle down, had too much I still wanted to do in life. Guess that makes me one of the lucky ones since I didn't have that to lose. No, the only person left on this planet I'd want on my side now is my baby brother. He's annoying as hell but I'd trust the little bastard with my life no matter what the situation was."

"Where's he now?"

"Last I heard he was living just south of Albany with his family. But that was before, who knows where he is now."

Daryl cocked his head slightly as he thought about everything she'd just said and was amazed that she'd practically made it across the country on her own. She may be an irritating pain in the ass, but it was pretty impressive what she'd managed to accomplish so far. "That where ya headin' then?"

"Yep. Who knows if I'll ever manage to find him, but I've gotta try."

"I know how ya feel," he admitted after a moment. "Lost my brother for awhile too."

"Did you ever find him again?" she asked with interest.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Daryl forced himself to nod his head but was unable to get any words out of his mouth. Merle's death was still a touchy subject with him and he wasn't ready to talk about it, least of all with a complete stranger.

"Good. I know the pain of not knowing and I'm glad you no longer have to deal with it."

Not wanting to talk about it anymore he leaned over and picked his rabbit up off the ground. "It's been fun an' all, but I should be headin' back so I can get this thing on ice."

"Enjoy your rabbit stew hunter boy," she said with a grin as he turned to leave. "And if I ever stop by to visit again I expect to be introduced to this brother of yours!"

Seeing him wave she settled herself back in her hammock and tucked her arm behind her head with a smile. Okay, so maybe he wasn't that bad after all. She hadn't gotten any bad vibes from the rest of his group either and a part of her wondered if perhaps she should come back here once she was finished with her journey. Sure it would take some adjusting, she hadn't stayed in one place for more than a few weeks since things started, but maybe she could build a life there. If someone like Daryl could fit in, perhaps there was hope for her as well.

Of course she still had a lot of ground to cover before she could even entertain the idea of settling down so she pushed the thought aside and got ready for the last leg of her trip.

ooooo

When Daryl reached the gates Carol was waiting for him and he raised an eyebrow in question. "Ya need somethin'?" he asked as he stepped inside the walls.

"Not me, but I'm pretty sure Michonne could use your help right about now." Seeing his raised eyebrow she elaborated. "Deanna heard about us letting that Chelsea woman in without talking with her first and she's livid. Her and Rick have been going at it for awhile now and it's making the other residents antsy. Many of them still don't trust us and she's afraid that the argument is going to lead to . . . problems. I'd send Glenn and Maggie, but they left with Tara while you were out to go on a supply run and they're not back yet."

"I ain't no peacekeeper," Daryl replied as he moved to walk around her.

Grabbing him by the back of the shirt Carol forced him to turn around and gave him her best glare. "You know as well as I do that I can't do it, I've worked too hard to build up my reputation here, and since Sasha's still up in the tower that leaves you. Now I don't want to hear any excuses, you just get your ass over to Deanna's place and do whatever Michonne tells you to do."

He was tempted to brush her off, but Carol didn't look like she was in the mood to mess around and he had no desire to get on her bad side. She could be downright terrifying if the situation called for it. "Fine," he grumbled. "I'll go help 'em out, but you'll have ta take care of this for me," he finished, holding up his rabbit.

"You've got yourself a deal. Now get moving, I want you over there before things have a chance to spiral out of control," she said, grabbing the animal by its hind leg. "With any luck those two will work things out soon and you won't have to do anything but stand there and look intimidating, but if you do have to break something up remember not to kill anyone."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered as he turned to leave.

Watching him walk away she glanced down at the furry creature and called out, "Hey, what would you like me to make with this little guy?"

Daryl was silent for a moment before a small smile made its way onto his face. "Stew," he said with an accompanying nod. "Rabbit stew."

Wondering what had him smiling Carol shook her head as she headed back towards the house to get cooking.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own The Walking Dead or anything affiliated with said series.

* * *

It took Chelsea almost two weeks after she left Alexandria to finally reach her destination. Unfortunately most of the street signs had been battered beyond recognition by what had either been a very nasty storm or someone with some serious anger issues and it took nearly a whole day to find her brother's house.

It showed signs of vandalism and, as she'd expected, appeared to have been deserted for some time by the look of things. During her search she managed to find a picture of him and his family though, and after reacquainting herself with their faces she tucked the photo into her pocket and made her way back out to the road.

Unsure of where to look next, there'd been no sign that any harm had come to them so she had to go on the assumption that they were still alive, she was tempted to flip a coin and let it decide which way she'd go. A large group of walkers heading towards her from the south made the decision for her and she quickly took off down the street that led in the opposite direction.

Another three days passed with no sign of anyone, living or dead, and she was beginning to think that the whole area was a ghost town when she stumbled upon a small group of people living in an old abandoned food factory.

Usually she was incredibly thorough with her surveillance, sometimes spending days studying whoever she'd found, but she'd run out of food a day and a half ago and a growling stomach combined with the possibility that her brother might be in there had her rushing things. She'd hidden most of her belongings and gone out to introduce herself within hours of spotting them.

The man at the door had been friendly enough as he'd welcomed her inside, but the hairs on the back of her neck stood up when the door slammed ominously shut behind her and she heard multiple footsteps approaching.

She'd decided to take her gun with her, just in case, as well as her machetes and hunting knife which she'd hidden away in her left boot, but as soon as her eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room she knew that what she'd brought wasn't nearly enough.

During her reconnaissance she'd counted three or four guys and figured there were probably a couple more she couldn't see, making a total of around six or so. Nothing she couldn't handle if things turned ugly. Her calculations had been _way_ off.

"Well that was just brilliant," she muttered under her breath as she moved her eyes around the room, taking in each of the twelve guys surrounding her with a critical eye. "Just walk right into the lion's den why don't you."

"Well looky here boys, seems we've got ourselves some entertainment for the evening," one of the men closest to her said as he raked his eyes over her body. "And a fine piece of ass she is."

"Got that right. Ain't seen nothin' that good looking in months," another added and several other men cheered in agreement.

"And she was nice enough to bring us some gifts too," the one who'd invited her in said from behind her as he reached his hand out to tap the gun at her side. "Those are some pretty dangerous toys ya got there girl, why don't ya hand 'em over before ya hurt yourself."

Snorting, Chelsea slipped one of her machetes free and spun it around a few times, grinning when the two men closest to her took a few steps back. "If you think these are dangerous you should see what _I_ can do."

Okay so it definitely wasn't the smartest thing she'd ever done, closer to the stupidest actually, but she simply couldn't resist egging them on. It was obvious how this was going to end, there were far too many of them for her to take on by herself, but if she was going down she may as well have some fun with them right.

"Well boys, who wants to play?"

No one moved for some time and Chelsea was starting to wonder if perhaps they'd chickened out, then she saw the weapons come out and a shiver of fear went down her spine. She'd always thought that when death came for her she'd take it on without flinching, but with her impending doom staring her in the face she was finding it very hard to not curl into a ball and cry.

Taking a deep breath she pulled her gun out as well and made a mental note to save the last bullet for herself. Since there was no way she was getting out of this alive the least she could do was make sure they didn't get their hands on her while she was still breathing.

As she raised the gun and aimed it at one of the men across from her she wondered how many shots she'd be able to get off before their bullets tore holes through her. When she found herself looking down the barrel of one of their guns she changed her mind and decided she _really_ didn't want to know. Hopefully the adrenaline would keep her from feeling too much of the pain she was about to receive.

Moments before she pulled the trigger the man who'd spoken up first called out, "Remember boys, try to keep her body in good enough shape that we can still use it afterwards," and she nearly threw up in her mouth. No matter what happened in the next few minutes, _he_ was definitely going to die.

Her first shot nailed one of the guys in the chest and he fell to the ground almost immediately while the second took out the man next to Mr. Sicko as she spun the gun in his direction. The next two shots went wide as she found herself dodging three knife wielding men who seemed hell bent on taking either her weapons or her hands and she ended up with a nasty gash on her upper arm when she twisted out of the path of one of their blades.

And that was when things really started to get bad for her.

Of the ten remaining men only a few of them were actually attacking her, the rest were sitting back waiting for the best opportunity to jump in. They found it when she dropped one of the men that had been circling her and she felt the burning sensation in her side long before she realized what it meant.

A second bullet grazed her leg and she winced as it buckled beneath her, barely managing to remain on her feet as they just kept coming. She fired three more shots in quick succession and was pleased to see that all three had hit their targets even if two of the men were still more or less standing at the moment.

There were six of them left in fighting condition now, but she knew her end was near as her vision began to darken so she forced herself to ignore the men closest to her in favor of tracking down the one she'd promised herself she'd kill. She spotted him a short distance away watching things unfold and she turned the gun on him before the others could stop her. Out of the corner of her eye she watched as a knife came down on her arm and she pulled the trigger over and over, as fast as she could, before she was forced to release the gun.

With a satisfied smirk she watched as her target doubled over and collapsed and she finally allowed her eyes to slip closed. The last thing she saw was the man in front of her bringing a metal rod down on her head. Thankfully she blacked out before he connected.

ooooo

Miles had been out hunting for supplies when he'd heard the commotion at the nearby warehouse and had planned on simply ignoring it and moving on. It wasn't his responsibility to save whatever idiot had gone and gotten himself into trouble with the murderous thieves that called that place home. The thought that the person might have a family out there, however, had him running off in that direction a few seconds later.

When he'd snuck inside he'd been expecting to have to deal with a sentry or two and was a little surprised that they'd left the place unguarded in favor of dealing with the newcomer. The guy must be one tough SOB to warrant all that manpower.

He quietly made his way towards the back of the building where the sound was coming from, pausing when he heard several more gunshots. Pulling out his glock, he checked to make sure it was loaded before taking a calming breath and stepping out into the clearing.

What he saw made him see red and without hesitation he began popping off shots, taking down three men one right after the other including the one holding the rod. Realizing he was there the remaining two men turned their focus on him, but he made quick work of them as well thanks to their initial shock.

Once they were all down he slowly walked out into the middle of the room, kicking each body he passed to see if any of them were still alive. He managed to find two who were still breathing, but they were quickly dealt with when he put a bullet in each of their heads. In no time at all the only ones remaining were him and the woman currently bleeding all over the floor.

Rushing to her side he dropped to his knees and began to dig bandages out of the bag at his side. "If you survive this I'm going to kick your ass," he breathed out. "You hear me sis."

ooooo

The first thing Chelsea noticed was that she hurt all over which meant she obviously wasn't dead yet, the second thing was that she was most definitely not at that factory anymore as she doubted those men had anything quite this comfortable to sleep on. And if they did there was no way they'd allow her to use it anyway.

Her next clue that she was someplace new was the sound of giggling, childish giggling to be exact. Not something you'd hear in a place filled with thugs that's for sure. With a pained groan she forced her eyes open and winced as the light burned them.

When the giggling began to come closer she somehow managed to turn her head in the direction it was coming from and blinked several times to try and clear her vision. The sight before her was not at all what she'd expected.

"Oh, you're awake," the little blonde girl said with a toothy grin. "Does that mean you can play with me now auntie?"

Not believing what she was seeing Chelsea attempted to raise her hand up so she could rub at her eyes, but the movement was too painful and she quickly gave up. "Natalie, is that you?" she asked softly, afraid that if she spoke too loud the vision before her might vanish.

"Who else would it be silly?" the girl giggled cutely.

"Nat, what did I tell you about bothering your aunt Chelsea?" an all too familiar voice said from the doorway and Chelsea couldn't stop the tears from falling down her face as she caught sight of her brother leaning against the doorframe with a tray of food in his hands.

"Miles?"

"Hey sis, glad to see you're finally awake," he said seriously as he walked over to the bed and set the tray down on the table next to it. "How you feeling?"

"Like I just got my a-. . . butt kicked," she replied, managing to stop herself from swearing at the last second.

"Daddy said you got hurt fighting bad men, is that true?" Natalie asked as she climbed up on the bed to sit next to Chelsea. Seeing her nod, Natalie pursed her lips in thought. "Is that why you never got married auntie, because men are bad?"

Chelsea couldn't help it, she laughed. Of course the pain in her side made her instantly regret it and she sobered up immediately.

"That's right sweetie, men are bad . . . unless they're your family," Miles said with a nod and Chelsea rolled her eyes at him. The girl was just shy five years old and already he was trying to make sure she never got a boyfriend.

"Don't listen to your father Natalie, he's only joking. Not all men are bad, some are even . . . sweet."

The small smile that accompanied her last word had Miles raising an eyebrow in question, but he figured now was probably not the time to question her about whom she'd been referring to. Instead he reached out and slid his arm under her shoulders to help her sit up. "You've been out for three days so I'm sure you're pretty hungry," he said as he reached for the bowl he'd brought in with him. "We made you some soup."

"Yep, I was in charge of stirring it," Natalie said looking very proud of herself.

"I'm sure it's delicious."

"Nat, why don't you go downstairs and eat your dinner, your aunt and I need to discuss a few things." Watching his daughter bob her head up and down, Miles smiled as she skipped out of the room. Once she was gone he held out the spoon and gave Chelsea a bite which she swallowed slowly, then offered her another as he tried to figure out where to start.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he demanded finally, setting the bowl down so he wouldn't spill it. "Were you trying to get yourself killed?"

Chelsea shrank back at the tone in his voice, unused to hearing such a serious sound coming out of his mouth. "Of course not," she replied shortly. "When I got to your house and found it empty I started searching around but came up empty. Figuring you hadn't gone too far I began to wander around, that's when I ran out of food. After nearly two days without finding any I ran into those numbskulls and decided to take my chances."

"Are you serious?" Running a hand over his short brown hair he released an exasperated sigh. "Look, we both know what you did was stupid, but since you're alive I'm going to overlook it for now. But if you even so much as think about pulling a stunt like that again I'll kill you myself."

"Love you too bro."

Shaking his head he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead while mumbling, "Get some sleep, you need to heal."

Blinking sleepily, Chelsea watched him walk away and called out to him before he reached the door. "Where's Annabeth?" The look on his face told her everything she needed to know and she gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, she made the decision herself," he replied stiffly. After a brief pause he asked, "Mom and dad?"

"Likely dead."

"They decide to hole up in that house of theirs?" When she nodded he swallowed thickly. "Can't say I'm all that surprised, but I would've liked to have seen them one last time before . . . you know." Clearing his throat he pointed his finger at her and his voice became stern. "Sleep. If I come up here to find you wandering around I'll tie your ass to the bed until you're completely better. Is that clear?"

"Yeah, yeah. Now get lost, it's impossible to get any rest with your incessant talking."

He grinned at that. "It's really good to see you again sis."

"Good to see you too."

With a wave he disappeared out the door and Chelsea shifted to make herself more comfortable before closing her eyes. When she'd gotten into that building she'd truly thought she'd been about to die, but here she was alive and reunited with her brother and niece. Despite all the pain she was in she found herself smiling.

Sometimes it was good to be alive.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own The Walking Dead or anything affiliated with said series.

* * *

It had taken almost a week for Chelsea to heal enough to be able to move around unassisted and another three before Miles agreed to allow her to accompany him on a supply run across town. She'd been shocked to learn that he left Natalie by herself when he went out, but then she'd seen the room he'd created for her and she understood completely. Outside he'd have to be constantly on alert if she was with him, but behind those four walls she was perfectly safe. The dead would be kept at bay by the wood spikes and barbed wire, and the living would find quite a few surprises of their own if they came within twenty feet of the place.

Because she'd been on bed rest so long Chelsea found herself easily winded, and even some of her more basic fighting techniques were nearly impossible for her. Thankfully Miles was there to step in whenever she got in over her head, though she was beginning to think he took some sort of sick pleasure in watching her struggle with the damn walkers they kept running into.

About a month and a half after her near brush with death, the three of them were sitting in the living room of the house Miles had commandeered a year ago when Chelsea decided to bring up the subject of Alexandria.

"You know, I've been thinking," she began, kicking Miles' shin under the table when he opened his mouth to make some smartass comment. "How would you two like to come back with me?"

"Back where?" Natalie asked around her mouthful of noodles. "To grandma and grandpa's?"

"No, someplace else," Chelsea replied with a shake of her head. "I ran into a group of people on my way here and they live in a secure, walled community. They've got power, water, food . . . everything you could possibly need."

Miles was silent for a moment before asking, "Do you think we can trust them?" Truthfully he didn't want to give up the house he'd spent so long fortifying, but he'd begun running out of places to raid for supplies and at best they had another couple months before they'd have to move on to somewhere new so it couldn't hurt to hear her out.

"I'm not entirely sure," she admitted with a shrug. "From what I could tell there were two separate groups living there, and while one of them owes me for saving two of their own, the rest of them are another matter entirely."

"I say we go," Natalie chimed in. "We could use some more friends."

With a smile Miles pointed at his daughter's empty plate with his fork and said, "And I think it's your turn to wash the dishes." When she groaned he raised an eyebrow and added, "You can either do the dishes now or I'll have you help do the laundry tomorrow."

Making a sound of disgust she hopped down from her seat and grabbed her plate. "Yucky, I'll take the dishes."

"I thought you might."

When she walked into the kitchen Chelsea turned to him with a look of horror on her face. "Please tell me you don't make her touch your dirty clothes. The poor girl would die from the stench in seconds."

"Of course not, but the threat of it works like a charm."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, choosing to finish their food before continuing their conversation. As soon as his plate was empty, Miles leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "So tell me about this place. Is it really worth checking out?"

Chelsea wasn't blind; she'd seen the limited supplies left around the place. She'd also noticed how far out they'd had to go before finding anything of use the last couple of times they went on runs. It was nearing time for them to move on and while she didn't know all that much about Alexandria she knew enough to make it very appealing. "In my opinion, yes. The place is secure, with high metal walls all around the complex and a gate that's always being watched. On the inside they've got quite a few houses for people to live in and each one has running water and power. You have no idea how good it felt to take a hot shower, and I know you've missed electricity since you burned through my mp3 player's battery in less than a day."

He at least had the decency to look guilty at that and she shook her head good-naturedly before continuing. "The only problem with the place is the people. That many strangers means plenty of things can go wrong; the question is do you think it's worth the risk?"

"Tell me about these two groups."

"I only actually met with the one group, well six of them anyway. I know they have at least one more, but I'm guessing that's not all. They're close, like family, and were together long before they ended up there. The others kept to themselves, but I could see they were wary of the people I was with. If I had to guess, they're probably just scared. I doubt many of the others have done much outside the walls."

"So there are survivors and hiders living together in the same place? I don't know, seems like an accident waiting to happen."

"Maybe, but you should wait to make a decision until you've seen the place."

Miles raised an eyebrow at that. "You seem to think it's already been decided. I never said we were going to go."

"Of course you didn't," Chelsea said waving her hand dismissively. "I think I'm going to head to bed early. We've got a busy couple of days ahead of us to get ready for the trip."

"I never agreed to go with you," he called after her as she made her way towards the stairs. Shaking his head, Miles looked around the place he'd been calling home for awhile now and found he didn't really mind the thought of leaving. Not that it mattered, there was no way he was going to allow his sister to go off and leave them alone. Those girls were the only family he had left and they were going to stick together no matter what.

ooooo

It only took them about a day to get everything ready and loaded into a working van they'd stumbled across a month back and they soon found themselves on the road headed back towards Alexandria.

They ran out of gas about ten miles out and had to ditch the vehicle on the side of the road and continue on foot which meant they'd had to leave some of their supplies as they could only carry so much between them, but Chelsea was certain that even if they chose not to stick around they'd be able to pick up whatever they needed before heading off in search of another place to stay.

After a few hours of walking Miles called for a break so Natalie could rest and they all huddled around the base of a large oak tree while eating some leftover noodles. That was when the first walker appeared.

Chelsea had been a little worried that all that time spent inside had dulled her senses, but even with the murmured conversation going on around her she still managed to hear the tell-tale sound of something making its way towards them. Jumping to her feet she spun in a circle as she tried to locate where the sound was coming from.

When Natalie opened her mouth to ask what was going on Miles covered it with his hand and shook his head sharply. Slowly getting to his feet he pulled his gun out of the back of his pants and shifted so that his daughter was between him and Chelsea as he joined her in searching for danger.

It took a few passes but Chelsea finally spotted her target a couple hundred feet away and she waited with bated breath to see what it would do. When it kept on walking she nearly released the breath she'd been holding, that is until she saw the horde that followed.

"Run!" she cried as she grabbed Natalie's hand and took off in the opposite direction of the walkers with Miles hot on her heels. Ducking beneath a branch she bit her lip as her side began to ache and she gratefully released her niece's hand when Miles pulled the little girl closer to him.

"Which way?" Miles demanded as they continued to race through the trees. "I mean we've got to be close to this place, right?"

Sidestepping a walker that had appeared out of nowhere, Chelsea dropped it with a kick to the back of the knee and stomped on its head. Sliding one of her machetes free she jammed it into its skull just to be on the safe side before running to catch up with the others.

"A few miles that way I think, maybe more," she replied as she attempted to regulate her breathing. When Miles lifted a sniffling Natalie into his arms, she hoped to god they were closer.

Two walkers in front of them dropped to the ground with bullets in their brains courtesy of some well placed shots from Miles, but it seemed like the farther they ran the more walkers appeared and they were quickly becoming surrounded.

Slicing through the heads of three of the walkers closest to her Chelsea felt the fighting taking its toll on her body. Despite all the rehab she'd done she was nowhere near healed and she knew she wasn't going to last much longer. "Take Natalie and go, I'll draw them away," she ordered as she took out another two and heard four more shots ring out behind her.

"Like hell I'm going to leave you here to die!" Miles snapped as he took down another one.

Chelsea shook her head. "If you stay we'll all die, at least this way you two will have a chance to survive. You know I'm right so don't bother arguing with me. Just get that precious little niece of mine to safety."

Looking at his sister who was struggling to stay upright Miles choked back a sob. "Thank you."

"Don't just stand there, get moving!"

Turning around he took off running and a short time later one of the dead near him drop to the ground with an arrow sticking out of its head. At first he thought it was Chelsea clearing a path for them, but then he realized that she'd left her bow back at the tree so that wasn't possible. Another corpse hit the ground and this time he caught a glimpse of the one firing the shots and he found himself torn between being thankful for the help and being terrified of what the unknown man would want for it.

Deciding he could deal with any demands later he gave the man a nod before lifting Natalie up and helping her climb into a nearby tree. "Daddy has to go help aunt Chelsea so I want you to climb up to that branch up there, stay put and be very quiet. Can you do that?" Seeing her nod he turned around and ran back to help take out the remainder of the dead.

The three of them, plus another man who'd shown up a short time later dealt with the last thirty or so walkers and Miles wrapped an arm around Chelsea's waist to help support her when she began to collapse.

"I thought I told you to run," she said through clenched teeth. "And where's Natalie?"

"I did, but then those two showed up and I figured I couldn't let them take all the glory for saving your sorry ass," Miles replied with a grin. "And Nat's fine, I left her in that tree over there," he finished, pointing at the little girl who was clinging to the tree while watching them intently.

Turning to face the other two men Chelsea stared in shock at the familiar face before her. "Well I'll be damned, it's hunter boy. You out here looking for another rabbit for that stew of yours?" she asked, somehow managing to smirk despite the pain wracking her body.

". . . Chelsea?"

ooooo

Daryl had gone out with Aaron earlier that day in search of more survivors, but the trip had been a total bust. Not only did they see no signs of life, but they'd had to leave the car a few miles down the road when the engine overheated. Thankfully they hadn't had to deal with any walkers, but that was the only upside to the day as far as he was concerned.

Since the car was no longer an option they'd begun the several mile trek back to Alexandria on foot and had been a little less than a mile out when the sound of gunfire rang out close by. They'd hesitated for less than a second before taking off towards the sound.

When they got closer it became obvious that whoever it was was in serious trouble. There were at least three dozen walkers closing in around them. Taking out one of the walkers closest to him, Daryl motioned for Aaron to go around and come in from the other side in hopes of splitting the dead into slightly more manageable groups.

Seeing Aaron nod and take off, Daryl returned his focus to the walkers near him in time to see a man running towards him with a little girl in his arms and he quickly let an arrow fly. The next arrow was locked in place by the time the first walker went down and he took the one next to it out a few seconds later.

He was about to ask if the guy was okay when he noticed there was a woman being swarmed farther back and he immediately turned in her direction. Making quick work of four of the walkers on the outer ring he dropped his crossbow to the ground once he ran out of arrows and pulled out his knife.

Three more went down soon after but it was becoming apparent that he wasn't going to make it to her in time. There were simply too many of them and even with Aaron's help they just weren't killing them fast enough. Ramming his knife into the skull of a walker on his left he swore under his breath as he finally lost sight of the woman.

All but giving up on any chance of getting to her before she was overrun, Daryl's eyes widened when a dark blur rushed past him and dove headfirst into the fray. He hadn't expected the man to come back, not since he'd been carrying a child, but it seemed he wasn't willing to let the woman die. Shaking his head, it was rare to find someone willing to do that for another person these days, he got back to work.

With the added help of the man, and the fact that Aaron had finally managed to make his way closer towards the center of the fight, the last of the walkers were soon on the ground and Daryl wiped his knife clean on a walker's pant leg as he took a moment to catch his breath. Watching as the man wrapped an arm around the woman's waist he was about to head back to collect his bow and arrows when he heard the same voice he'd been unable to get out of his head the past few months.

With a dumbfounded look on his face Daryl managed to get her name out before words left him completely and he stood there looking like an idiot.

"You know this guy?" Miles asked as he helped Chelsea over to a tree so she could use it for support.

"Sort of. He belongs to that 'family' I mentioned." Leaning her back against the tree she closed her eyes briefly and wrapped an arm around her side as she attempted to work through the pain.

Looking between her and the other two men he hesitated before asking, "You okay here?"

"I'm fine, go get Natalie out of that tree before she decides to jump down herself."

"My baby girl would never do something so dangerous, she's a perfect little angel," Miles said with a snort as he turned to leave.

"You mean like me?" Laughing when he flipped her off over his shoulder, Chelsea looked over at Daryl and the man with short brown hair who was standing next to him. "So, hunter boy, you gonna introduce us or would you rather continue standing there gaping like a fish?"

Before he had a chance to respond Aaron spoke up. "Are you _the_ Chelsea?" he asked curiously, and then seeing her confused look added, "You know, the one he walked in on?"

"Wow, word sure gets around that community of yours doesn't it. And here I thought the days of rumors and gossip were over."

Miles, who had come walking back over in time to hear the end of what she'd said rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding me, shi- . . . I mean _stuff_ like that is what keeps everyone sane in this crazy messed up world."

"How true," Aaron agreed with a nod.

"Okay, now you've got me curious. Just what is this juicy little tidbit of yours?" Miles couldn't help but ask.

"Word around Alexandria is that Daryl here snuck a peek at Chelsea. We teased him for weeks about it just so we could watch his face turn this adorable shade of red." Glancing over at said man Aaron pointed at his face with a grin. "And there it is now."

Narrowing his eyes, Daryl found himself wondering how much trouble he'd get into if he went back without Aaron and his big mouth. Couldn't the man see how protective they were of each other? It was obvious in the way the man had jumped in to save her earlier. But no, Aaron had to go and be oblivious about things and now Daryl was being glared at by a very pissed off guy who just so happened to be carrying a gun. Yeah, this day just went from bad to worse.

Figuring he'd better do something to defuse the situation before it got ugly he quickly piped in with, "It ain't like that. I was just bringin' her some clothes. Didn't know she was a woman or I'd a knocked first."

"So it was an accident then?" Seeing the other man nod Miles' anger vanished only to be replaced by a pout. "Damn, and here I thought I'd finally get the chance to defend the honor of a poor, defenseless damsel. How disappointing. Oh wait, you're no damsel you're a demon so it wouldn't have earned me points anyway."

Chelsea raised an eyebrow at him before saying, "A demon am I? You say the nicest things sometimes."

"Only the best for my favorite sister."

"I'm your only sister dumbass."

"Oooh, auntie Chelsea said a bad word!" Natalie said as she pointed a finger at her. "That means you have to do the dishes tonight!"

Ignoring Miles who was sticking his tongue out at her because she got caught, Chelsea rolled her eyes. "You're right, my bad."

Daryl watched the display in front of him with a mixture of humor and disbelief. Sure it was entertaining watching the two bicker, but how anyone could do that minutes after taking down a large group of walkers was beyond him. Everyone he knew either became somber or had a killing high so the joking around was unexpected to say the least.

When the siblings began to toss childish insults back and forth he shook his head. He was beginning to think they needed some _serious_ help.

"Hey mister, what happened to your sleeves?"

He'd been so focused on watching the two in front of him he hadn't noticed that the little girl had come over to stand next to him and he looked down at her bewildered. "My what?"

"You know, the sleeves on your shirt. What happened to them? Did they get pulled off by the evil ones?"

Figuring she was referring to the walkers Daryl shook his head. "Nah, this shirt don't have sleeves."

Cocking her head cutely, Natalie pursed her lips in thought. "Why not? Did they run out of material when they were making it?"

"Nat, are you bothering the man who was nice enough to come to your auntie's rescue?" Miles asked after sticking his tongue out at Chelsea one final time.

"I'm just asking him a question."

"Is that so? Well seeing as your aunt is about two seconds away from passing out how about you keep your questions to yourself until we get her someplace safe. Can you do that?" Patting her on the head affectionately when she nodded, Miles walked back over to Chelsea and pulled her arm over his shoulder so she could lean against him.

Realizing there was no way he was going to be able to hold up Chelsea, keep tabs on Natalie and carry all their things, he turned a questioning gaze towards the other two men. "So, uh . . . wait, I don't even know your names."

"That's hunter boy," Chelsea began, pointing her finger in Daryl's direction. "And that's hunter boy's friend. Now that you know their names can we please get to a bed before I collapse? Unless you _like_ the idea of having to carry me the rest of the way there."

Giving her a look that clearly said 'hell no', Miles shook his head. "Yeah . . . no."

Smiling at the pair Aaron introduced himself. "My name is Aaron and this is Daryl, it's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Miles and the adorable little angel holding onto my leg is Natalie."

"I'm four and a half and I like stories, peanut butter and banana sandwiches, and my auntie Chelsea," Natalie said with a small wave.

"Hey, what about me?" Miles asked with a pout.

"Oh, and horses too."

Chelsea snickered at the look on Miles' face but it quickly turned into a pained hiss. "Okay, introductions are done. Time to go."

Looking from Chelsea to Natalie and then behind them to where they'd left their things, Miles decided to forgo grabbing their stuff. They could always come back and get it later . . . hopefully.

Grabbing Natalie's hand he shifted Chelsea tighter against his side while saying, "So, care to lead the way to this _wonderful_ place of yours."

Daryl stepped over a walker and headed back in the direction they'd come from. "You take 'em Aaron, I'll catch up after I get my shit."

"Alright," Aaron agreed. "Well everyone, this way please."

Watching them walk off through the trees, Daryl went around and collected his arrows before heading in the direction Miles had looked earlier. It wasn't hard to figure out what the other man had been thinking and he figured he may as well pick up their gear and bring it back for them.

A little voice inside his head, which sounded suspiciously like Carol, said he was only doing it to earn points with Chelsea and he promptly told it to shut the hell up. He was helping the family out that was it. It's not like he was trying to get on her good side or anything.

Ignoring the voice which had begun laughing at him, he loaded himself up once he'd found their things and started making his way back towards Alexandria.

ooooo

"If you don't mind me asking, how long have you and your daughter been out here Miles?" Aaron asked curiously as they made their way through the trees.

"This is our first trip since all this began. I found a nice place a few months after things got bad and Nat and I were there until yesterday when my crazy sister convinced us to head out to Alexandria. And wouldn't you know it, she goes and gets herself beat all to hell before we even arrive. She's such a handful, it's a wonder I can put up with her."

"You do know I can hear you," Chelsea ground out, leaning even more heavily on him the farther they walked.

Grinning, Miles bobbed his head up and down cheerfully. "Of course. It wouldn't be fun otherwise."

Rolling her eyes Chelsea glanced over at Aaron. "How much longer?"

"Not long, we should be able to see the walls . . . ah, there we are," he replied, pointing at the edge of the tree line. "There it is, that's Alexandria."

Now that they could see it they all began to walk a little faster and it took them less than ten minutes to get to the entrance. When they were within shouting distance Aaron called out to the person on the other side and the gate was open by the time they reached it.

"Hey Aaron, where's the car? Daryl got it somewhere?" the man asked as he allowed them to enter before pushing the gate closed.

"No, it conked out on the road a few miles back and we had to leave it. Daryl should be right behind us though, he just had to grab his stuff. We ran into a large pack of walkers out there trying to get to these guys and since this lady could use a doctor right now Daryl stayed behind to gather everything while I brought them here."

"You can go ahead and take her in to get patched up, but Deanna's got a strict rule now that everyone who comes in is to be brought to see her immediately so he's gonna have to come with me. After they relieve themselves of their weapons of course."

Miles was aware of their 'no weapon' policy, he and Chelsea had talked about it at length and he'd decided that he could live with it if he had to, but if the guy thought he was separating them he had another thing coming.

Aaron doubted Miles would take too kindly to being pulled from his sister so he shook his head and said, "Sorry, but if Deanna wants to see them she'll have to follow us because I promised them they'd stay together." When it looked like the man might argue he added, "Tell her if she's got a problem with that she can talk to me about it later. Right now we need to get her someplace where she can lie down."

"If you want to go against the boss lady be my guest. I'll need those weapons though."

Handing them over, Miles followed after Aaron as he led them down a street to one of the houses at the end. "Thanks for that."

"No problem. Just keep in mind that Deanna's not going to be happy that you disregarded her order. She probably won't kick you out, but she definitely won't go easy on you."

"You going to get in trouble for helping us?"

Aaron shrugged. "A slap on the wrist at most, nothing to worry about." Knocking on the door he smiled when the person he was looking for answered. "Carol, good, I was hoping you'd be here."

Seeing Aaron the first thing Carol did was look around for Daryl and when she didn't see him she began to panic. "What happened, is he alright?"

"Don't worry, Daryl's fine. He should be back soon," Aaron replied soothingly. "That's not why I came though, we stumbled upon someone I think you might know and I figured it would be better if you tended to her injuries since the others are still upset with you guys for brining her in under Deanna's nose."

"Who . . . ?" Trailing off she caught sight of the three standing behind Aaron and her eyes widened. "Chelsea, what happened?"

Blinking several times in an attempt to focus, Chelsea grinned. "Oh, hey Carol. Got anymore of that spaghetti?" she asked, then promptly passed out.

Struggling under the sudden weight Miles released Natalie's hand so he could hook his other arm under Chelsea's knees and lift her into his arms. "She hasn't recovered from her earlier injuries yet so of course we had to get swarmed on the way here. She's probably just exhausted, but if you wouldn't mind giving her a quick once over I'd really appreciate it."

"Absolutely, just follow me and I'll show you where you can lay her down."

Nodding at Aaron when the other man waved and headed off, Miles followed Carol up the stairs with Natalie close on his heels. Glancing around he had to admit that so far he liked what he saw. The place was secure, guarded and clean! He was lucky if they managed to keep the laundry and dishes done, sweeping and dusting were so low on his list of priorities he was amazed he even knew what those words were anymore.

"Here, put her on the bed," Carol said as she pushed open a bedroom door and motioned him inside.

Placing her down gently on the flower print bedspread he stepped back, wrapping his hand around Natalie's when she held hers up to him.

Carol looked from Chelsea's unconscious form to the man and little girl and, noticing how grimy they were, offered, "You two are more than welcome to use the bathroom next door to get cleaned up while I examine her. Unless you'd like to stay that is," she added hurriedly.

Shaking his head Miles made a face at that. "No thanks, I really don't need to see my sister without her clothes on. I'd be scarred for life. Come on Nat, let's go wash up while your aunt gets some rest."

When they reached the doorway he paused long enough to say, "My name is Miles by the way, and this is my daughter Natalie."

"It's nice to meet you both."

"Nice to meet you as well. Well we'd better let you get to work. Come along sweetie." And with that he led Natalie out of the room in search of the bathroom and the hot water Chelsea had talked so much about.

ooooo

It hadn't taken Daryl too long to collect their gear, but even with as quickly as he'd walked he didn't manage to catch up with the others on the trip back.

Nodding to the man at the gate as he was let in he decided to drop the packs off with Carol for safekeeping before grabbing a shower. He probably could've left them in the weapons locker, but he wanted to let Carol know he was back anyway so why not save himself a stop.

Pushing open the front door with his foot he dropped everything he was carrying against the wall and called out, "Carol?"

"Upstairs," her slightly muffled voice replied.

Taking the steps two at a time he was outside her partially open bedroom door in seconds and he shoved it open the rest of the way while mumbling, "Hey, I'm ho- . . ." His voice trailed off and his eyes widened when he saw her attempting to remove Chelsea's shirt and he quickly spun around when her stomach started showing.

Unaware of his discomfort Carol tugged at the shirt, grunting in frustration when Chelsea slipped in her grasp. "Get over here and give me a hand will you."

When she didn't hear him moving she turned to face him and rolled her eyes at his back. "Relax, I'm not asking you to strip her naked, I just need to get this shirt off of her so I can get a better look at her torso."

Still facing the wall Daryl cleared his throat before speaking. "Um, shouldn't Miles help ya with that? He is her brother ya know."

"He and that little girl of his are getting cleaned up. Now quit being a baby and get over here."

Taking a deep breath he released it slowly. "Fine, but if either of 'em get pissed about it I'm blamin' ya for it."

Making his way over to the bed he shifted around nervously until Carol leaned Chelsea's upper body in his direction.

"Hold her steady while I get this thing off her then you can lay her back down."

It took him a moment to figure out the best place to put his hands to keep her steady, but once he did he turned his head away to give her some privacy while Carol worked her arms out of the snug fitting shirt.

When he heard "All done," he turned his head around long enough to make sure he wasn't going to twist her about and did a double-take when he spotted the freshly healed wound on her side.

Making sure she was more or less comfortable he stood back and eyed what appeared to be a bullet hole. Now he hadn't gotten a real good look at her last time he'd seen her but he was fairly certain she hadn't had _that_ and he couldn't help but wonder what she'd gotten herself into while she'd been away.

"She gonna be alright?"

Not looking up from where she was inspecting a dark bruise along the bottom of Chelsea's ribcage, Carol nodded. "She'll be sore when she wakes up I'm sure, but other than that she appears to be in fairly good shape all things considered."

"Well if ya don't need me I'm gonna hit the shower."

"I'm good here, but find me when you're finished will you. I want to hear how your trip went."

"Ain't nothin' to tell, trip was a bust."

Carol glanced over at the slumbering woman and then back with a raised eyebrow. "I wouldn't say that, but you can give me the details later. Go get yourself cleaned up before you stink the place up."

Rolling his eyes, Daryl gave her a wave as he headed down the hall.

Shortly after he left Carol heard the bathroom door open and she covered up Chelsea before stepping out of the room.

Looking down at the blonde haired child who was running her hands through her wet hair she bent over slightly and smiled. "So, do you feel better now?"

Natalie beamed. "Yep, I got to take a _shower_!" she replied excitedly.

Smiling down at his daughter Miles said, "Natalie, what do you say to the nice lady?"

"Thank you!"

"It was my pleasure. Now, if it's alright with your daddy, how would you like to help me bake some cookies?"

Her whole face lit up after hearing that and even though he barely knew the woman Miles simply couldn't say no when Natalie turned those puppy dog eyes on him.

"Can I go, pretty please?" she begged.

Crouching down to eye level he gave her a serious look. "You remember the rules?"

Natalie nodded. "Don't go anywhere with anyone, don't play with anything sharp, and if I ever get scared scream as loud as I can."

"That's my girl," Miles said with a grin. "Now off you go to play in the kitchen, and make sure you save some cookies for your aunt and I."

As she bounded down the stairs Carol moved to follow her, pausing long enough to say, "Since Aaron brought you here I'm going to assume you haven't been to see Deanna yet which means she'll be sending someone to fetch you soon, if she hasn't already. I'm sure you're not interested in leaving Chelsea alone here so I'll do my best to keep them out of your hair for as long as I can, but there's been a bit of unrest between our groups since we let her in without approval and I don't know how long I'll be able to hold them off. Just wanted to give you a heads up."

"Thanks for your help. And feel free to tell anyone who stops by that Natalie and I aren't going anywhere until Chelsea wakes up. I don't care what the rules are here, those girls are my only priority."

Not the least bit surprised by his response, she figured he'd say something like that, Carol smiled. "Well now that we've got that settled I really should get down to the kitchen before that little girl of yours gets started without me."

Once she was gone Miles stepped into the bedroom to check on Chelsea one last time. Brushing her hair away from her face he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "Thanks for always looking out for us," he murmured. "From now on I promise I'm going to protect you."

After making sure she was all tucked in he quietly closed the door behind him on his way downstairs to the kitchen. It was time to see what kind of trouble his daughter had managed to get herself into.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own The Walking Dead or anything affiliated with said series.

* * *

When Chelsea woke up she was terrified that being saved had been nothing more than a dream, but the sight of Miles sprawled out on a nearby chair with Natalie curled up on his lap allowed her to release the breath she'd been holding and she ran a hand through her disheveled hair as her heart rate slowed down.

"Good, you're awake," Miles' sleepy voice murmured from the opposite side of the room. "I was starting to worry you were going to have a repeat of the warehouse incident."

"How long have I been out?"

"Awhile. It's late; I think most of the town is asleep right now."

Shoving the blanket covering her aside, she sat up slowly and was pleased to find that she wasn't all that sore. At least not like she was when she'd been shot. This was more of a total body ache as opposed to searing pain, which in her book was the equivalent of being perfectly fine.

Pushing herself to her feet she stretched her tired muscles before tipping her head towards the bed. "Why don't you two take the bed, I'll sleep on the chair when I get back."

"Where are you planning on going?" Miles asked through a yawn as he gently lifted Natalie up and moved her under the covers.

"Not far, I just need to get some fresh air."

Crawling in behind his daughter he snuggled into the blankets while mumbling, "I doubt Mr. 'I'm too sexy for my sleeves' will let you leave, but you're welcome to try."

"Huh?"

Miles opened his eyes long enough to explain. "The lady in charge got upset when I refused to meet with her and has put us on house arrest. I know you said to play nice, but I wasn't going to leave you by yourself in a house full of strangers until you were awake and able to kick ass if need be. She wasn't too happy about that and demanded someone keep an eye on us until we've gone through the interview process . . . whatever the hell that means."

"So there's someone outside the door right now?"

"Yep, your friend 'hunter boy' was given guard duty. There was a huge argument about it a few hours ago, the boss lady wanted one of her own people in here but these guys refused to have someone else inside the house so the job was given to Daryl." Yawning once more he burrowed his head deeper into the pillow. "Well good luck, and if you manage to sneak out make sure you don't wake us up when you come back in."

"Goodnight."

"Night."

Opening the door slowly, Chelsea caught sight of Daryl sitting on a chair a few feet down the hall with his legs kicked up over the armrest and a book open in his lap. "I hear I have to ask you permission to go outside."

Closing the book, Daryl sat up and shrugged. "Wasn't my idea but I gotta follow the rules all the same."

"And do those _rules_ allow me to go for a walk?"

"Deanna said ta keep an eye on ya, didn't say you couldn't go nowhere."

"What about them?" she asked, glancing back at the door behind her. "You going to get in trouble for leaving them unguarded?"

"They asleep?" Seeing her nod he shook his head. "Nah, 'sides, it ain't like anyone's gonna find out about it anyway."

When he remained sitting she shifted from one foot to the other before motioning towards the stairs. "So . . . about that walk."

Getting to his feet Daryl led the way downstairs and to the front door, stopping long enough to let Chelsea put her shoes on before opening the door and allowing her to pass through. "Where to?" he asked once they were outside.

Looking up at the star covered sky she gave him a half shrug. "Doesn't really matter. I just wanted to get some fresh air, that's all."

Since she didn't have a destination in mind he began walking down the street in the direction of the gate with her following after him at a relaxed pace. Shoving his hands in his pockets he wondered if he should say something or if this was one of those moments best left in silence, and then promptly reminded himself that he was only there to watch her, not keep her company.

"It's peaceful here," Chelsea said after several minutes of walking. "Calm and quiet, one can almost pretend that things are back to normal."

"Things ain't never gonna be _normal_ again."

"Of course not, but being here it's easy to forget about what's going on outside those walls." Looking around she saw several houses with lights on in their windows, and along with the lit street lamps the place gave off the appearance of a typical suburban community from back in the days before the dead began to roam the earth.

"Can ya do that, forget?"

Snorting, Chelsea shook her head. "Hell no. I've seen and done too many bad things to ever think the world is anything other than a dangerous hellhole. What about you?"

"Never."

"Is that why your two groups don't get along very well? They want to believe everything is alright and you guys know it isn't."

Daryl was silent for a moment before answering. "They ain't bad people, just ain't been out much since things got bad. It makes 'em weak, and the fact that we ain't like that terrifies 'em. Not the best livin' arrangements, but we get along well enough."

When they reached the gate they turned around and headed back the way they came, this time with Chelsea leading the way. "Hey, I know it's late but do you think I could meet your brother real quick. I've been kind of looking forward to talking with him."

Daryl hadn't expected her to remember their conversation and found himself wishing she hadn't as he now had to explain that that was never going to happen. "About that . . ." he began, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to figure out what to say next.

"Is he already asleep? We can wait until the morning, it's no big deal."

"It ain't that." Taking a deep breath he decided to just say it and be done with it. "Ya can't see 'im . . . he's dead."

"Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't know," Chelsea quickly apologized.

"Ain't your fault, I shoulda told ya before. He's been dead awhile now."

Not knowing what else to do, and feeling really bad for bringing up such a sore subject, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a brief hug. "I'm sorry for your loss," she murmured as she released him. "I can't imagine how hard that must've been."

"We all lose people we care about, just the way things are now."

He was definitely still bothered by it, but since he was trying so very hard to pretend otherwise she acted like she didn't notice and instead changed the subject as they approached the house. "Don't suppose we could make a little detour to the kitchen before you lock me back upstairs."

"So long as ya don't eat all the cookies ya can do as ya like."

"You have cookies?" When he nodded she clapped her hands together in delight and raced off into the house while chanting "Cookies!" over and over again.

Shaking his head at her behavior Daryl followed after her intent on snagging one for himself before she devoured them all.

ooooo

Chelsea was forced awake the next morning far too early by an energetic little girl and her equally hyper father.

"I got to bake cookies!" Natalie said at the same time Miles clutched at his heart and cried out dramatically, "I think I'm in love!"

Looking from her niece to her brother then back again she settled on dealing with the easiest conversation first. "So you're the one I have to thank for those delicious treats."

"Yep, that nice lady Carol helped me." Climbing onto the bed Natalie began to bounce up and down in excitement. "And tonight she said I could help her with dinner. Also, daddy says I might be able to go to school with the other kids tomorrow, isn't that neat?"

"It sure is."

"Nat, why don't you go brush your teeth real quick while I talk with your aunt."

With a nod she hopped off the bed and skipped out of the room as Chelsea raised an eyebrow at Miles. "You're not really going to make me listen to another one of your 'I met the girl of my dreams' speeches are you? 'Cause it's too damn early for phrases like 'eyes as blue as sapphires' and 'lips the color of roses'. I need to get at least a little food in me before you go making me want to hurl."

Crossing his arms over his chest Miles muttered, "I'm not _that_ bad," under his breath.

"When you met Annabeth you compared her hair to silk and her skin to satin, and let's not forget how Jasmine 'smelt as sweet as perfume' or the way Jessie's gaze 'reached straight to your soul'," she replied with a snort. Seeing him pout she rolled her eyes before grumbling, "Fine, just make it quick."

Smiling brightly he plopped himself down on the bed next to her. "So, Natalie and I were out in the yard playing earlier when movement down the street caught my eye. At first I thought it was someone doing yard work or something, which is strange enough mind you, but upon closer inspection it turned out to be a woman practicing with a sword. A sword! And not one of those flimsy fencing ones either, this was more like a samurai sword. Anyway, you should've seen the way she moved, it was so graceful. Deadly and elegant at the same time; she was a thing of beauty."

"The sword or the woman?"

"Both, but I was actually referring to the dark skinned woman. She had this air about her that just screamed dangerous, and on top of that she was wearing a police uniform! She's my ideal woman and as soon as I find out her name I'm going to ask her to marry me."

Chelsea held up her hand. "Slow down there Romeo, you're getting way too far ahead of yourself. For starters there's no guarantee that we'll be allowed to stay, and even if we are, who's to say she's not already taken?"

"She's not, I know these things." When Chelsea covered a cough behind her hand that sounded suspiciously like 'bullshit' he narrowed his eyes. "That was one time, years ago mind you, and _she_ was flirting with _me_!"

"She was pregnant and wearing a wedding ring."

"That's what you say, but I still maintain that she was single and on the prowl."

Giving her brother a friendly shove she got to her feet and headed towards the closet. "And that right there is why her husband nearly sent you to the hospital. Now kindly get the hell out of here so I can get dressed."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going." When he reached the door Miles paused. "Should I let them know you're awake or would you rather get something to eat before they haul us away for questioning?"

"I'd really rather not do it on an empty stomach, but to be honest I just want to get it over with so go ahead and tell them I'll be ready shortly. No point in dragging things out any longer."

Watching as he nodded and walked out she grabbed a light blue shirt and some khaki shorts out of the closet at random and quickly pulled them on. Her shoes were next as she'd dumped them at the foot of the bed when she'd gotten back last night instead of leaving them by the door like she'd originally planned. Once she was finished she tied her hair back and deemed herself ready to go.

Stepping out into the hall she made her way to the stairs and went down to join her brother who she spotted standing next to the door helping Natalie get ready. Aaron was there as well and she immediately squashed the disappointment that bubbled up when she realized that Daryl wasn't going to be the one escorting them to wherever it was they were going.

"Are you guys all set?" Aaron asked once Miles got his shoes on. When they nodded he pushed open the door and began walking down the street.

Keeping Natalie between them, Chelsea swept her eyes back and forth over their surroundings in search of anything out of the ordinary. It wasn't that she thought they were going to attack them, she simply didn't trust the people here. Well, most of them anyway.

"Where are we going?" Natalie asked curiously as she skipped along.

Taking her hand Miles held it tightly. "Remember that lady I told you about, the one who wants to ask us some questions, we're going to visit her.

"You mean the lady in charge of the school?" Seeing him nod she slowed down and started walking almost hesitantly. "Do you think she'll like me? I mean I know I probably don't know as much as the other kids here, but I promise I'll work extra hard to catch up. You think she'll say yes, right?"

"She'd be crazy not to."

Beaming up at her father she began to hum a cheery tune.

It didn't take them long to reach their destination and they soon found themselves standing outside the door of a very well kept house. When Aaron raised his hand to knock Chelsea caught Miles' eye and pointed at herself while mouthing, "Me first."

"Ah, Deanna, I've brought the new guests as requested," Aaron said when an older brown haired woman opened the door. "This is Chelsea, her brother Miles and his daughter Natalie."

"Thanks, that'll be all Aaron," the woman replied as she eyed the trio warily. Aaron remained where he was and she turned to give him a pointed look. "I said, _that'll be all_."

Chelsea hadn't even spoken with her yet and already she didn't like the woman. They way she talked reminded her of her old boss and she clenched her jaw shut to keep herself from saying anything that would likely get them thrown out.

Finally taking the hint Aaron tipped his head while saying, "Well if you need anything feel free to come find me. I live down that street over there, third house on the right." Giving Natalie a wave he turned on his heel and took his leave.

Once he was gone Deanna stepped back and motioned them inside. "I'm sure this won't take long but you may as well make yourselves comfortable." Leading them through the entryway and into the living room she motioned to the couch. "One of you can wait here while the other comes with me."

"I'll be going first," Chelsea said as Miles and Natalie went to sit down.

Giving her a look of mistrust, Deanna walked towards a door on the right side of the room. "This way then."

Following after her Chelsea sat down in the chair opposite what she assumed was Deanna's desk and crossed her arms over her chest. "So," she began as the other woman took a seat as well. "I gather you've already made your decision. Care to explain _why_ you're planning on kicking us out of your lovely little community."

"I let Rick and his friends in because they had something we desperately needed," Deanna replied with narrowed eyes. "You two on the other hand have absolutely nothing to offer us besides trouble."

"And you know this how exactly? It's not like you've spent any time with us."

"I don't need to, I know your kind." When a look of disbelief crossed Chelsea's face she continued. "I'm sure you thought you were pretty smart leaving like you did, making us believe you truly didn't want anything from us. Then after a few months you show up again with a doting father and his adorable child hoping to make us even less suspicious of you, but I know a trap when I see one. Now I don't know how many others you have out there but know this, we will not give this place up without a fight!" she finished, slamming her fist down on the desk with enough force to knock over one of the photos.

Shaking her head Chelsea laughed humorlessly. "I have no idea what gave you that crazy idea, but you're full of shit. I didn't stay last time because I was searching for my brother and niece, something I'd been doing since the dead decided to take over the world, so I only stopped by long enough to grab a shower and some food. I wasn't aware that my desire to find my family was going to blacklist me, but if I had been I assure you we never would've wasted our time coming back to this place."

"Still not willing to give up on this lie of yours? Well, perhaps the young man in the other room will be more . . . _cooperative_."

The way she'd said that last word had Chelsea clenching the armrest of her chair so tightly she could feel her nails digging into the wood. "If you harm a single hair on either of their heads I'll tear you apart limb by limb. Slowly and _very_ painfully."

Deanna shook her head. "Threats will do you no good, you're hopelessly outnumbered here."

At that moment Chelsea wanted nothing more than to reach over and strangle the woman across from her. It would be so easy, take hardly any effort by the look of things, and with Deanna dead maybe the community would be more inclined to let them stay.

Well, Miles and Natalie anyway. She had no doubt that killing the older woman would either get her exiled or killed herself, but so long as her brother and niece were allowed to stay it was a price she was more than willing to pay.

Before she could go through with it, however, she took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. Sometimes it was all too easy to fall back into that 'take what you want' mentality, but doing so now would only prove her point and there was no way Chelsea was going to give her the satisfaction. "I see, well there's nothing more for us to talk about then is there. I think it's time for us to take our leave," she said as she pushed herself to her feet and headed back towards the living room.

Watching the younger woman leave Deanna allowed a genuine smile to grace her lips. "It appears Rick was right about you after all."

Pausing mid-step, Chelsea looked back over her shoulder questioningly. "Excuse me?"

"When you first showed up I was furious that he'd taken it upon himself to allow a stranger into our community," she replied as she leaned back in her seat. "It's my job to clear all potential residents and I told him as much after you'd left. During the course of our little argument, however, he talked a great deal about you and how they were all for you staying if you ever decided to come back. Of course by then word had spread about how you'd been on your own for quite some time so I had my doubts you'd return, and if you did if you'd even be able to acclimate to our way of life, but I promised to give you a chance if you ever made your way back here."

"If this is what you call 'giving me a chance' I'd hate to see how you'd be if you weren't," Chelsea said with a snort.

"I apologize for the way I treated you, but I had to be certain you weren't the type of person who uses violence to solve things."

"You're lucky I'm not, otherwise you'd be one of those _things_ now."

Deanna gave her a serious look. "Perhaps, but I've learned to trust Rick's instincts. The man has a knack for spotting things most people miss. Of course that's not to say I wasn't prepared for the worst," she finished as she pulled a gun out from under her desk and held it up for Chelsea to see. "Had you done anything to harm me I would've taken you out without hesitation."

Eyeing the weapon in her hand, Chelsea turned to face the other woman completely and crossed her arms over her chest. "So what happens now? If all of this was just for show does that means we're going to be allowed to stay?"

"Why don't you take a seat, I've still got a few questions I'd like to ask you."

ooooo

As soon as Chelsea disappeared into the other room with Deanna Miles had wrapped his arm around Natalie's shoulder and held her tight against his side. He tried to stay upbeat for his daughter's sake, but the way the other woman had looked at them gave him little hope that things would turn out okay. The raised voices he could hear through the closed door did nothing to convince him otherwise.

"Do you think aunty Chelsea is alright in there?" Natalie asked worriedly after a particularly loud banging noise.

"I'm sure she's just fine. You know your aunt, probably helping put up a picture or something." It was impossible to tell if she believed him since she was currently burying her face into his shirt, but she wasn't trembling anymore so he took that as a good sign.

Time seemed to crawl by and after what seemed like hours Miles decided he'd had enough. The room had been quiet for some time and he couldn't take not knowing anymore. Shifting Natalie so she was no longer pressed against him he made to stand up when the door was pushed open and the two women came strolling out.

Eyeing her from head to toe Miles released the breath he'd been holding when it appeared that she was still in one piece. Actually, upon further inspection she seemed to be in a fairly decent mood.

"Your turn Miles," Chelsea said as she sat down on the couch next to Natalie and motioned for him to get moving.

Any hesitation he may have felt disappeared when he saw the small smile on her face and he followed after Deanna almost eagerly. Whatever was about to happen couldn't possibly be bad, not with how relaxed Chelsea had looked.

Closing the door, Deanna took a seat behind her desk and pointed to the chair opposite her. "You may take a seat if you'd like," she offered when he remained standing a few feet inside the room.

Slowing sinking down into the chair, Miles glanced around the office and began to fidget slightly when she simply sat there staring at him. "So, um, how does this whole interview thing work?" he asked, unable to take the silence anymore.

Ignoring his question Deanna asked one of her own. "How old is your daughter?"

"Nearly five, why?"

"I see, and how long have you been taking care of her on your own?"

Not entirely sure where this line of questioning was going Miles hesitated a moment before replying. ". . . a little over a year."

"Her mother?"

Narrowing his eyes he said shortly, "I don't see how that's any of your business."

"Humor me," Deanna said, her voice implying she wouldn't take no for an answer.

". . . a few months into all this she had a breakdown of sorts. Said she just couldn't handle it anymore and hung herself from the ceiling fan," he replied finally, his voice barely above a whisper. Taking a deep breath he added, "Any other painful memories you'd like to bring up?"

Standing up, she walked around the desk and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm truly sorry for putting you through all this, but I need to know the _real_ person I'm dealing with. Letting the wrong kinds of people stay has proven disastrous in the past and I'd rather not repeat that mistake."

"And what, you think my answer is going to tell you something vital about me? That's pretty crappy investigative work if you ask me." Shaking his head in disbelief Miles found himself wondering how the woman ever came to be in charge.

"What you said is only part of it. You'd be surprised how much you can learn about someone through their body language alone. For instance, just now you showed serious anger while talking about your wife killing herself, but there was also remorse. You're upset with her for abandoning you and your daughter, you think she was weak for taking her own life, but you also feel terrible because when she came back you were forced to 'kill' her again. Am I right?"

Swallowing thickly he fought back the images that sprang forth at the mention of that terrible day, when he'd come home to find her body hanging from the ceiling fan and realized that she'd become one of the undead. He'd never told anyone what he'd done, not even Chelsea, and yet this woman he'd never met before was reading him like an open book.

Moving over towards the door Deanna paused before opening it. "I'd like to talk with you some more, figure out where you'd be best suited around here, but that's enough for today. Why don't you take your daughter and go introduce her to the other kids at the school instead, I'm sure she'd like that."

"We can stay?" Miles asked quietly.

"You can stay."

When the door closed and he was left in silence he dropped his head to his knees and allowed himself to cry. He was thrilled they managed to find a safe place as wonderful as this to stay, but she'd opened up an old wound he'd never properly let heal and he couldn't stop the tears as they poured down his face.

"Damn you Annabeth!" he sobbed. "How dare you leave us like that!"

ooooo

Chelsea looked up from the very intense game of rock-paper-scissors she was playing with her niece when Deanna walked in. "Where's Miles?"

"He's going to need a few minutes."

The look on the other woman's face had Chelsea nodding in understanding. During their conversation she'd talked about some of the harder times she'd had during her journey, several near rapes, the countless number of lives she'd taken, and the one time she'd contemplated ending it all. It was a lot to work through, and though he hadn't gone through quite as much she'd always suspected that Miles had been forced to _deal_ with Annabeth after she'd turned. Something she was certain Deanna had managed to pull out of him.

"In the meantime, would you two like something to eat? I've got some delicious muffins in the kitchen."

Natalie was on her feet in an instant with a big smile on her face. "Yes please!" and then quickly turned to Chelsea and added, "It's okay, right?"

Patting the little girl on the head Chelsea returned her smile before standing up. "Sure."

Rocking back and forth on her heels, Natalie looked over at the closed door hesitantly. ". . . daddy won't mind?"

"Well I don't know," Chelsea began, tickling her niece's sides. "Are you planning on eating them all before he joins us you little muffin thief?"

With a squeal Natalie wriggled out of Chelsea's grasp and darted after Deanna who was already halfway to the kitchen.

Shaking her head, Chelsea glanced back at the door behind her and murmured, "Take all the time you need little brother. We'll be right here when you're ready to come back to us," before following after the others.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own The Walking Dead or anything affiliated with said series.

* * *

Miles wiped the last of the tears from his eyes and stood up feeling better than he had in ages. He'd been holding in all his anger and pain for so long it was a relief to finally let it all out. Rubbing at his face he hoped that it wasn't too noticeable that he'd been crying; Chelsea would never let him live it down if he went out there looking all red and puffy eyed.

Letting himself out of the office he was surprised to find the living room empty, no sign of his daughter or sister anywhere. The sound of giggling reached his ears and he followed it towards what turned out to be the kitchen. Leaning against the wall he smiled at the sight before him.

Deanna was at the sink washing dishes while Natalie and Chelsea were fighting over who got to clear the table. Apparently it had become an all out war as they were both holding up a plate like a shield and using spoons to swat each other away.

"Give up, the last cup _will_ be mine!" Chelsea proclaimed as she gently jabbed at Natalie's plate.

"Never!"

When Natalie dove in for an attack Miles cleared his throat and she instantly froze.

"Daddy!" she cried happily, dropping the items she was holding onto the table and rushing over to him.

Lifting his daughter into his arms Miles held her tightly and kissed the top of her head. "Hey sweetie, did you have fun with your aunty Chelsea?"

"Uh huh, we were playing 'king of the table'." Tilting her head up she added, voice full of pride, "I was winning."

"I don't think so squirt," Chelsea chimed in as she proceeded to grab the rest of the dishes from the table. "I was ahead by two forks."

"That doesn't count; your arms are longer than mine!"

Seeing the pout on his daughter's face Miles shook his head and sighed dramatically while saying, "Alas, it seems she'll never give up her cheating ways. Oh woe is me, to be related to one such as her, how cruel life is."

"Watch it mister, I've got a spoon and I know how to use it."

"You wouldn't dare." When the grin on her face turned positively evil he paled and began to laugh nervously. "What I meant to say was that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose," he told the little girl in his arms. "Accept your defeat with honor and strive to do better next time."

"Nice save."

Releasing the breath he'd been holding, for a second there he'd been afraid she might actually follow through with her attack, Miles shifted Natalie to his hip. "If you guys are finished here, how would you like to go check out the school Nat?"

"Really?" Seeing him nod she bobbed her head up and down and cheered, "Yippee! I get to go to school!"

"Remember, today we're just going to introduce you to everyone and take a look around." It became apparent that she was no longer listening to him when she slid to the ground and began to dance around the kitchen singing 'School is fun' to the tune of _Jingle Bells_. Deanna gave him an amused look and he shrugged. "What can I say, she's really looking forward to it."

"Well you'd best get moving before she leaves without you."

Looking up Miles was surprised to see that Natalie was already at the door and he took off after her while calling out, "Wait for me!"

"Thank you," Chelsea said soon after the front door slammed shut.

"There's no need to thank me," Deanna replied, taking the dishes from Chelsea's arms and setting them in the sink. "You two seem like decent people and there aren't many of those left nowadays. Prove me right and you're welcome to stay as long as you like. Prove me wrong . . . well, you don't need me to tell you how that'll end."

"We won't do anything to disappoint you, at least not intentionally. This place means too much to us."

"That's good to hear." Slipping her hands back into the soapy water Deanna glanced back over her shoulder. "You remember I told you I'd be giving you a job to do around here?" When Chelsea nodded she continued. "I do believe I just figured out what it's going to be."

"And that would be . . .?"

"You're going to be our new recruiter."

"Your what now?"

Rinsing off the last of the dishes Deanna wiped her hands dry on a nearby towel and turned to face the younger woman fully. "Recruiter. In other words you're going to go out and find other like-minded people to join us here in Alexandria."

"You mean like Aaron and hunter boy?" When Deanna raised an eyebrow in question she added, "I mean, Daryl."

Smiling slightly at the nickname, it was obvious that the two of them got along well which meant she'd definitely made the right decision, Deanna nodded. "Precisely. Aaron is looking to retire, so to speak, and I need to find him a replacement. You're it."

"Why me? I mean wouldn't it make more sense to send someone who's been here for awhile, someone who knows all about this place?"

"Aaron will continue going with you for a little while to get you used to things so you'll have plenty of time to learn, but that's not why I chose you. Daryl needs to keep moving, he's not like the rest of us who're content to stay here behind these walls. That was one of the reasons I sent him out with Aaron, that and the fact that he's more than capable of handling tough situations. The two of them get along quite nicely, and work well together, but with Aaron looking to stick around here I now have the difficult task of finding someone who Daryl will willingly work with. Unfortunately, even after all this time he's still wary of most of us, and while I wouldn't mind sending one of his group out with him none of them seem as eager to be free."

"You on the other hand," Deanna continued with a smile. "You're just like him. Don't get me wrong, I know you want to be here, but if you stay cooped up for long you're likely going to have some sort of meltdown and neither of us want to see that happen."

A look of disbelief fell across Chelsea's face. "Let me get this straight, you're sending me out to hunt down survivors because you think I'll go stir-crazy if I'm here for too long?"

Not wanting her to take offense Deanna held up her hands and shook her head gently. "Yes and no. I'm not saying you'll have a problem living here, in fact I'm quite certain you'll adjust nicely, it's just that with everything you've been through do you really think you'll be content to sit around doing mundane things all day?" Chelsea opened her mouth only to close it with a frown and she pressed on. "I thought so. This isn't a punishment, not by any means, I simply feel that this is something you'd be well suited for. Give it a few weeks, please, and if you find it really isn't for you we can always move you to something else."

Chelsea thought about it for a moment and decided why not. It wasn't like she was agreeing to do it forever, and besides, as much as she wanted to deny it Deanna was right. She'd nearly driven Miles up a wall when she'd been holed up in that house after she'd been shot. It wasn't that she wanted to be out there so much as it had become second nature for her to be constantly on the lookout for danger and that wasn't likely to go away anytime soon.

Taking a deep breath she tipped her head in agreement. "Alright, I'll give it a try."

"Thank you. Now why don't you go on and catch up with your family and enjoy the rest of your day," Deanna replied with a smile. "I'll let Aaron know what's going on and he'll let you know when they're heading back out. Until then, relax."

Chuckling at the muttered, "Relax? Have you met my brother and niece?" coming from the young woman opposite her, Deanna nodded in understanding before leading her guest back to the front door. "If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask, and please let me know if you change your mind. I don't want to send you out there if you're having second thoughts."

"I will, and thanks again . . . for everything."

Watching Chelsea walk off down the street Deanna was surprised to see Daryl jog over to join her. It hadn't been hard to figure out that the quiet man had a bit of a soft spot for her, his ears would always perk up when she was being talked about and oftentimes he'd even join in the conversation, but she'd chalked it up to them being . . . birds of a feather, as it were. Now, as she got her first actual glimpse of the two of them together she began to rethink her earlier assumption.

Whether the two of them knew it or not there was definitely something brewing between them and Deanna momentarily contemplated moving Chelsea to a different job. She'd always been hesitant to send Aaron and Eric out together, fearing their feelings for each other might get them into serious trouble, but it had never been a problem for them and she decided to see where things went before making a final decision.

Besides, it seemed likely that neither Chelsea nor Daryl had any idea that they felt anything other than camaraderie for each other at the moment so there was no reason to rush things. She'd give it some time and go from there. Nodding at her decision she turned around and headed back inside the house.

ooooo

Chelsea had been all set to track down Miles and Natalie once she stepped outside but a familiar face made her pause. Giving Daryl a wave she found herself wondering why in the world his shirt, sleeveless _again_ , and khaki cargo pants were covered in black smudges.

When he headed across the street to join her she slowed down slightly and greeted him properly. "Morning hunter boy."

Completely unfazed by the nickname at this point, though still not entirely sure _why_ she'd given it to him in the first place, Daryl dipped his head while mumbling, "Mornin'."

When he didn't seem inclined to say anything else she gave a small shrug and slowly started walking in the direction of the 'school'. He hesitated for a moment before moving to follow and she felt her lips twitch up slightly.

"So," she began after they'd passed a couple of houses. "Did you lose a fight with a robot or what?" she asked jokingly, waving her hand at his soiled clothes.

Glancing down Daryl shook his head with a snort. "Ya, 'cause those damn machines are everywhere nowadays." Poking at a particularly large stain on his upper thigh he admitted, "It's grease 'n motor oil."

"Ah, you're one of _those_ guys," Chelsea said with a hint of a smirk, and then before he could say anything in response added, "You know, the ones who like to work on cars and then don't bother to get cleaned up just to drive some women crazy. I knew a few of your kind before . . . _this_ ," she finished, waving her hand to emphasize the word. "Never pegged you as a grease monkey though hunter boy."

Blushing bright red Daryl sputtered. "It ain't like that, 'm not tryin' to impress nobody!"

"Relax, I was only messing with you," she managed to get out without completely breaking down into a fit of laughter.

"Ain't funny."

"Oh I don't know, I thought it was pretty damn hilarious watching you turn into a tomato like that."

Shoving his hands into his pockets Daryl dropped his eyes to the ground and glared at the pavement beneath his feet, all the while wondering what he found so interesting about the infuriating woman.

"But seriously," Chelsea continued, completely ignoring his pouting. "What are you working on that's got you looking like _that_ . . . and can I help?"

Jerking his head up at the question he fully expected it to be another one of her jokes and was surprised to find that she looked completely serious, a little hopeful even. "Rebuildin' my bike."

"Never worked on a motorcycle before but it sounds like fun. When are you going to work on it again?"

"Maybe this evenin'," he replied with a shrug. "Depends on what's goin' on."

Spotting Miles coming out of the house across the street she punched his arm lightly and said, "Well be sure and let me know when you do alright, later hunter boy," before jogging towards her brother.

Shaking his head, he'd never actually agreed to allow her to help and here she was making plans to join him, Daryl decided that perhaps it wouldn't be all that bad having her hanging around the garage. He enjoyed talking with her after all, and if he was really lucky maybe she'd even know her way around hand tools.

ooooo

Chelsea slowed to a walk as she approached Miles and the dark haired woman he was speaking with outside the house the community used as a school. A quick check showed that her niece was nowhere to be found and she raised an eyebrow in question when she caught her brother's eye. He jerked his chin towards the backyard so she headed in that direction with a nod while he finished his conversation with one of the 'teachers'.

It wasn't hard to spot Natalie, she was the smallest girl in the yard, and Chelsea leaned back against the side of the house as she watched her niece race around the grass with several other children of varying ages. She was smiling and laughing as they played what looked like a variation of tag and Chelsea's heart melted at the sight.

Things would never be normal again, but right now, watching her niece run and play she found herself thinking that this, whatever this was, was as close as they were ever going to get. The thought made her smile and suddenly the idea of leaving, going back out there to recruit people, wasn't as appealing anymore.

Oh she'd do her time like she'd agreed, but after that she was going to find something else to occupy her time around the community. Something that didn't require her to risk her life as often and, more importantly, kept her with the two people she cared about more than anything in the world.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own The Walking Dead or anything affiliated with said series.

* * *

As promised Chelsea was left alone for the next several days, days she spent taking her niece to school and back, learning about Alexandria and its inhabitants, and trying very hard not to bash her brother's head against a wall every time he brought up his _crush_.

It was great that he'd found someone new and all, he definitely deserved to be happy, but did he really need to tell her every little detail about what he'd learned while stalking the woman? And despite his claims otherwise, that's precisely what he was doing . . . _stalking_.

As far as Chelsea knew he'd never even spoken to the woman, Michonne, all he ever did was follow her around whenever he had the chance and ask other people questions about her. She'd tried to bring it up several times that he was taking things a bit too far, but no matter what she said, or _how_ she said it, it never seemed to get through to him.

Instead she'd roll her eyes whenever he got started on one of his rants and try to think of anything other than how much she'd like to knock some sense into the idiot.

Thankfully no one else in the town seemed to mind his odd behavior all that much. Except perhaps the woman in question, but it was impossible to tell as she never said anything to anyone and her face gave away nothing.

When she wasn't trying to keep Miles out of trouble or working with Natalie on whatever 'awesome' new project she happened to be doing that hour, Chelsea could be found either helping Daryl with his bike -not that they'd made all that much progress as they tended to spend most of the time talking-, or following different people around to get a better feel for the place. She may have decided against keeping the position, but until her trial period was up she was going to make sure she did the best job possible.

ooooo

Chelsea woke up on her own that morning for the first time since they'd arrived in Alexandria. The house was eerily quiet which meant that Miles must've been out taking Natalie to school, something which was confirmed when the clock next to the bed showed it was just after nine, and she burrowed deeper into her pillow with every intention of going back to sleep for a couple more hours. She hadn't slept in awhile and the thought of lying in bed longer brought a contented smile to her face.

Of course the moment she rolled over and closed her eyes she suddenly remembered her conversation with Aaron the previous night and just like that she was tossing the blankets aside in her haste to get up. He'd been talking about heading out for the last couple of days but had wanted to make sure that Eric's cough didn't get worse before doing so.

Thankfully it had only been a minor cold and the other man was recovering nicely so Aaron had stopped by the house after dinner the night before to let her know they'd be leaving sometime the following day and that she'd need to be ready to go when they came to pick her up.

Hopping out of bed she made her way to the closet and pulled her backpack down from the top shelf. She hadn't touched it since moving in and she couldn't help but run her fingers over the faded green material reverently. Like her weapons that pack had kept her alive on her journey, and though she wanted nothing more than to stay in Alexandria with her family there was a part of her that was itching to put it back on and head back out into danger.

Perhaps Deanna had been right after all.

Shaking her head to clear those thoughts, she'd made up her mind and wasn't about to change it just because of a little restlessness, she dug through the dresser in search of what she'd started referring to as 'beyond the wall' outfits.

They'd all been allowed to browse through the clothing closet once they'd gotten settled into their house and since she hadn't cared all that much about what she wore she'd made the mistake of allowing Natalie to pick out most of her clothes. Something she vowed to _never_ do again.

Now it wasn't that she didn't like the outfits her niece had chosen for her it's just that they weren't all that practical nowadays. Where her clothing used to consist of comfortable pants and loose fitting shirts, now she mostly had skirts and dresses, with a few pairs of jeans thrown in for when, in Natalie's words, 'it got wintery'.

Sure they were cute and all, things she'd have had no problem wearing pre end-of-the-world, but they weren't much use for anything other than wandering around the community. So she'd snuck back in for a few normal outfits once Natalie had gone off to play with the other kids and had been hiding them in her dresser ever since.

Tossing the clothes in her pack once she'd dug them out she headed towards the bathroom to grab some hygiene stuff, as well as her first-aid kit which she'd made sure to completely restock soon after they'd arrived.

A book and her mp3 player were tossed on top of her clothes as well when she walked back into the room and she did a quick check to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

All her camping gear had been left in the bottom of her pack, just in case she'd needed to leave in a hurry, so she had all of that which meant that other than her shoes and coat, neither of which she was planning on actually packing, she had everything of importance.

Not including her weapons of course, but those she wouldn't be allowed to have until they headed out so there wasn't anything she could do about those yet.

With a satisfied nod she tossed her pack onto the bed and went downstairs to grab some breakfast. It was probably going to be a few days before she'd be able to cook a decent meal again and she planned to make good use of her time.

ooooo

"Grab your gear," Daryl hollered as he opened the front door while rapping on it three times with his knuckles.

Miles poked his head out of the kitchen where he was busy making a sandwich with a look of utter confusion on his face. "Uh, what? Are we being relocated or something?"

"He was talking to me," Chelsea answered as she took the stairs two at a time, her backpack thrown over one shoulder and a jacket draped over her arm.

Seeing the familiar pack made Miles pause and he looked between the two of them before crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes. "Stop," he ordered when Chelsea slipped her shoes on and stepped towards the door.

Chelsea froze at the tone in his voice and spun to face him slowly, a slightly sheepish look on her face.

"Explain."

Ignoring the look of confusion on Daryl's face Chelsea took a deep breath and prepared herself for the outburst she knew was coming. This was precisely why she hadn't told him about her _job_ yet, he was far too overprotective of her and she knew he'd fight her about it.

"I'm going out on a recruiting trip."

As soon as the words left her mouth Miles was at her side, his fingers digging into her upper arm tightly. "No," he growled dangerously.

Daryl opened his mouth and Chelsea jerked her head at him sharply, anything he said right now would only make things worse. When his mouth closed with a frown she poked at Miles' fingers on her arm. "First, kindly release me or I'll be forced to prove that I can still kick your ass." There was a moment's hesitation and then the grip on her disappeared, though Miles remained close enough so he could stop her if she tried to leave.

"Thank you." Her response was a glare and she barely managed to refrain from rolling her eyes. "Look, I know I should've told you about this sooner but I didn't want you trying to talk me out of it. Deanna thinks I'll be good at this and I agreed to give it a shot."

"And leaving Nat and me here while you go out and risk your life is okay with you?"

He sounded hurt so Chelsea pulled her brother into a comforting hug. "Of course I don't want to leave you guys, but we need to pull out weight around here and if this is what she wants me to do I don't see any harm in giving it a shot. If it doesn't work out she'll find me something else, but I've got to at least try."

Miles was silent for nearly a full minute before finally whispering, ". . . you'll stay safe?"

"Of course," she replied, and then added jokingly, "And Daryl and Aaron will be there to keep me from doing anything too stupid."

"You mean like getting yourself shot?"

"Please, that was _one_ time," Chelsea grumbled as she threw her hands up in exasperation.

Turning on Daryl when she began to mutter about annoying brothers Miles gave him a serious look. "You'll look out for her?" he asked, though it sounded more like an order than a question.

Not knowing what else to do Daryl gave him a curt nod, but that seemed to be enough for the other man because he smiled and turned his attention back to his sister without another word.

"How long will you be gone?"

Unsure of the answer herself, Chelsea looked at Daryl questioningly.

"Ain't more 'an a week usually."

Miles didn't seem thrilled with the answer but thankfully didn't say anything else and Chelsea threw her arm around his shoulders for one last quick squeeze before moving back towards the door. "Tell Natalie I'll be back soon," she said before stepping outside.

When Daryl moved to follow her Miles stepped in front of him blocking his path. "She comes back in one piece." The 'or I'll hold you responsible' was left unsaid but came across loud and clear and Daryl tipped his head in acknowledgment.

"Well alright then." Spotting Chelsea at the base of the porch he called out, "Have fun, kill lots of zombies . . . and bring me back some decent beer!"

Without turning around she waved a hand over her shoulder and went to join Aaron at the small blue car out front. The other man smiled in greeting before opening the passenger side door and holding out his hand.

"I'll take your bag," he offered, motioning for her to take a seat.

"My, aren't we the gentleman," she replied with a grin. "Opening doors and helping with my things, you sure know how to spoil a girl don't you." Batting her eyelashes she joined in when Aaron chuckled at her behavior.

"It's a tough job but someone has to do it." And then with a sideways glance in Daryl's direction he playfully added, "Of course _some_ people just aren't man enough."

With something suspiciously close to a snort Daryl threw himself into the backseat with a noncommittal grunt.

Aaron and Chelsea shared a grin at his expense when a muttered "Let's get goin'," met their ears and Chelsea handed over her pack before spinning around to give her brother one last parting wave. They both had forced smiles on their faces, neither willing to show how hard it was to part, and she dipped her head in silent agreement that she'd come back to him.

"Safe travels," Miles called out, his cheerful demeanor returning as he gave them a friendly wave.

Slipping into her seat Chelsea replied cheekily, "Try not to destroy the place while I'm gone!" Slamming the door on his sputtering she turned towards Aaron who'd gotten in beside her once he'd secured her bag in the back.

"So where we headed, boss?"

"A few days drive east," he said, shifting the car into gear. "There are a couple of large food warehouses over that direction so we might find a group of survivors nearby."

Nodding she settled back in her seat as they pulled out of the driveway and slowly made their way to the gate.

Not long after they'd left the complex Aaron put a CD in and started humming along to the oldies that softly played through the speakers and Chelsea allowed her eyes to drift closed. They shot open a few minutes later when the car swerved to avoid a corpse in the road, but once she'd made sure the immediate vicinity was clear they slipped shut once again.

She must've drifted off at some point because the next thing she knew they were pulling off the road for a pit-stop.

"Have a nice nap?" Aaron asked as soon as the car was parked.

Covering a yawn behind her hand Chelsea nodded. "I did, yes. I hope I didn't disturb you guys."

"Oh no you were perfectly fine," Aaron said at the same time Daryl muttered "Ya snore."

Tossing an empty bottle over the seat at him Aaron shook his head. "She does not," he said with a roll of his eyes as he pushed open his door. "You're just annoyed that you had to sit in the back."

When he didn't deny it Chelsea found herself offering, "We can change up if you want. I don't mind the backseat." A dismissive shrug was her only response and she pinched the bridge of her nose while climbing out of the car.

Daryl joined them outside and stretched his arms over his head before grabbing his crossbow and slinging it over his shoulder. "'m gonna go check the area." Without waiting for either of them to respond he took off in the direction they were heading, his head swiveling this way and that in search of any possible threat.

Watching him walk away Chelsea turned to Aaron curiously. "Is he always like this when you go out?"

Aaron shook his head. "Cranky? Not usually, but then Carol did say he'd been up most of the night pacing."

"Pacing? Why, was he worried or something?"

He'd thought the reason behind Daryl's odd behavior was fairly obvious, everyone could tell the man felt . . . _something_ for her even if he himself wasn't aware of that fact, and it took him a moment to realize that she wasn't just messing with him. Chelsea really had no clue.

Knowing that one, it wasn't his place to say anything, and two, even if it were now was definitely _not_ the time to do so, Aaron simply gave her a knowing smile and turned to stretch his legs.

Not entirely sure what to make of the smile Chelsea decided to let the subject drop. It wasn't like it was any of her business anyway, and besides, she had more important things to think about than Daryl's strange behavior.

Like what to do about the group of corpses heading their way.

"Um, Aaron."

"I see them," he replied quietly as he crept slowly back towards the car.

Chelsea spotted Daryl jogging in their direction as she was sliding into the front seat and she sent a questioning glance Aaron's way.

"We've still got a couple of minutes before we have to move," he answered her unasked question. "If he's not here shortly we'll pick him up on the way."

As it turned out she needn't have worried, Daryl made it back with plenty of time to spare and they soon found themselves back on the road leaving the group of walkers in the dust.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own The Walking Dead or anything affiliated with said series.

* * *

The first two days of their trip was rather uneventful, a couple more sightings of walkers and a run in with some local wildlife being the worst of it, and Chelsea was beginning to think that maybe this recruiting gig wasn't such a bad job to be stuck with after all.

And then they stumbled upon some survivors.

It all started when Daryl spotted a young woman picking apples in a field on the side of the road. Usually, as Aaron had explained _many_ times during their journey, they'd find survivors and follow them at a distance to 'get a feel for them' before making contact, but the woman had spotted the car as they drove by and any chance of going in unnoticed went right out the window.

So they'd pulled off the road a few minutes later and had just begun discussing what to do when a group of ten or so armed men came rushing towards them from the tree line nearby.

Aaron had immediately kicked the car into gear and peeled out, trying to get as far from the approaching danger as possible, and managed to ram the car straight into the back of an old tractor-trailer that had obviously been placed across the road to prevent any unauthorized vehicles from passing without permission.

The shock of the impact had the three occupants inside the car tossed forward like ragdolls and even with the restraints none of them were conscious for more than a few seconds after the crash.

ooooo

Chelsea's head was pounding and her chest hurt like hell when she woke up sometime later. With the pain at the forefront of her mind it took her a few moments to remember what had happened, but when it came back to her her eyes shot open and she jerked her head about in search of the rest of her group.

Breathing a sigh of relief when she spotted both Aaron and Daryl laid out on cots on the other side of the room she slowly forced herself to sit up and took several deep breaths to calm down so she could assess the situation.

She was just pushing herself to her feet to check on the guys when the door across from her was thrown open and four men came strolling inside, two of them with guns aimed in her direction, and she sank back down onto the cot without a word.

"Well would ya look at that," the man in front said with a grin that looked positively evil. "The sweet little thing is wide awake and anxious to play."

Chelsea wasn't sure which made her skin crawl more, the way he'd _purred_ that final word or how his eyes never seemed to leave the vicinity of her chest. The fact that he looked like some old biker thug with his graying hair pulled back in a ponytail and dressed in jeans, a tight muscle shirt and a leather vest didn't make her feel any more at ease. Neither did the fact that the other three men were not only dressed in a similar fashion, but also seemed to be having an incredibly hard time removing their eyes from her breasts. Needless to say she wasn't getting a warm fuzzy feeling from them.

"Can I have first go at her boss?" the young blonde haired man closest to the door asked and Chelsea swore she saw drool at the corner of his mouth. "I ain't had nothing fresh since I got here."

The dark haired man next to him shook his head. "You know the rules Drake," he admonished, sounding disturbingly like a parent speaking to an unruly child. "The new girls always go to the winner of the arena first. No exceptions."

"Except birthdays and Christmas, right Carlos," the third man cut in, nudging the younger man with a wink.

Chelsea swore she heard a muttered "Damn gladiator bullshit," coming from the youngest of the group but the leader chose that moment to step forward and her attention quickly shifted to him.

"It's a shame really," the man in front of her said with a hint of disappointment in his voice. "I'd love to take you back to my place and spend a few days . . . _getting to know you_ , but as the man said, rules are rules." When he reached a hand out to run a finger down the side of her face Chelsea leaned back and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Don't touch me," she spat. "Or next time I'll take that disgusting finger of yours."

Chelsea wasn't sure which of the other men it was but soon after issuing her threat one of them spoke up."I don't know boss, you sure you want to hand her over to just anyone? This one looks like a handful."

"Anyone who can survive the arena can handle a mouthy bitch like her no problem," came the older man's immediate response and apparently that was good enough for them because they let the subject drop.

As they moved in to circle her Chelsea kicked out her legs and managed to catch the youngest one, Drake she thought he'd been called, in the thigh and he backed off with a grunt. She aimed a punch at the boss' face and a knee at the dark haired one's stomach but neither hit connected.

Since she had nowhere to go and attacking wasn't getting her anywhere she decided to try for a feint. Unfortunately for her the moment she stopped struggling the butt of a gun came crashing down on the side of her head and the world around her faded into darkness.

ooooo

There was no way of telling how much time had passed when Chelsea finally came back to consciousness and she really could care less anyway. The only thing that mattered was figuring out what in the hell had happened to Daryl and Aaron. Her memory was a bit fuzzy but she was certain they'd been in the room with her when she'd woken up the first time, although whether they'd been dead or alive there really was no way of knowing for certain.

A quick glance showed that she was currently tied to a chair in what appeared to be a lookout of sorts and she started shifting her body around in hopes of loosening her bonds while her eyes scanned the rest of the area.

The large open pit in front of her could only be the 'arena' they'd mentioned earlier and as she caught sight of the chairs and benches lining the edges of it the feeling of disgust she'd gotten from them earlier skyrocketed. These people obviously enjoyed whatever it was that took place down there.

As people slowly began to trickle out of the nearby warehouses and take their places around the pit Chelsea allowed herself to really look at what was inside the thing.

She regretted the decision immediately.

Everything inside the pit, from the walls to the floor to the random piles of rocks strewn about the place, had splashes of red. In another time and place she would've assumed it paint to give the place a more 'dangerous' feel, but as there were several body parts littering the area as well there was nothing else it could've been but blood.

Lots and lots of blood.

And guts.

. . . and if she wasn't mistaken there was even some brain matter thrown in for good measure.

Now that she'd had a good look at the pit the smell hit her like a ton of bricks and she barely managed to keep herself from throwing up. Not that the sight of it wasn't enough to make her want to hurl, but the smell reminded her of a farm she'd stumbled upon a few months after she'd left home and she had no desire to ever remember the carnage she'd seen there.

While she was trying to get her body back under control the rest of the spectators seemed to have finished arriving, along with their apparent leader and all around creep, _Boss_.

"Comfortable?" he asked as he plopped down into the seat next to her and kicked his feet up onto the railing in front of him. When he didn't receive an answer he held out his arms and smirked. "If not you can always come and sit here in my lap. I promise I won't bite unless you're . . . _naughty_."

Chelsea was tempted to spit in his face but decided that probably wasn't the best idea if she wanted him to keep his distance, so instead she settled on ignoring him and focused on the crowd instead.

What she saw made her see red.

All of the chairs were occupied by men of varying size and age, but the one thing they all had in common . . . there was at least one woman, chained and dressed in little more than a sheet, kneeling by their side with their heads bowed low.

Doing a quick count she saw that there were nearly thirty women in total, the youngest looking not a day older than sixteen, and she vowed right then and there that not a single one of those men would live to see the next sunrise.

Laughing out loud at her willful behavior the man next to her whistled sharply a few seconds later and the conversations around the arena slowly died off as just over twenty pairs of eyes turned their attention towards him. "Men, as you can see we got ourselves another beauty today," a loud cheer rose up at that announcement and he grinned before continuing. "So as per our rules we're having another open match in the arena!"

The crowd went wild, well, the men at least, and Chelsea shrank back slightly at the sheer intensity of them. It was as if they lived and breathed for this.

"Now normally we'd get this thing started with a zombie brawl," more cheering accompanied this and he continued, his voice booming out over the spectators, "but this time I've got a little something special for you. The first round will be against the two men that this one was traveling with. They look like decent enough fighters so whoever survives against them will move on to the blood match!"

If possible it got even louder and Chelsea wished she was able to cover her ears so she could block out some of the terrible noise. And then she actually processed what he'd said and she sat up as much as the ropes would allow, her eyes desperately searching for the two familiar heads in the deathtrap below.

"So, how many of you wish to try your hand in the Arena today?"

Several shouts ranging from "Me!" to "That bitch is mine!" rang out but Chelsea couldn't be bothered to see who the contestants were. Ignoring the noise around her she released the breath she'd been holding when she finally spotted Aaron as he was being led down a ramp into the arena. Daryl followed soon after and her struggles intensified when she saw the blood dripping down the side of his head.

"You bastard!" she hissed, jerking her body to the left in an attempt to launch herself at the man next to her. It didn't work, but the way he shifted ever so slightly away from her had her smirking despite the pain the sudden movement had caused her.

With a subtle clearing of his throat the man continued on as though nothing had happened. "You know the rules, first five to make it into the arena get to fight." As he finished he raised his hand into the air and watched as over a dozen men stood up and waited with bated breath.

"And . . . Go!"

The second his hand dropped everyone standing took off towards the 'door' that led to the arena, kicking and shoving their way to the front of the pack.

Chelsea caught Daryl's eye moments before men started pouring into the pit and she knew her own eyes were wide with terror. Five against two wasn't bad odds in a normal situation and had they not been handicapped she wouldn't have been worried in the slightest, but their hands were tied behind their backs and they'd been boxed into a corner while the ones joining them were each wielding some kind of blade.

Torn between wanting to make sure they were both still alive and needing to get a better look at their opponents, she found herself flicking her eyes back and forth from where Aaron and Daryl were discussing something in hushed tones to the men stalking through the arena like seasoned hunters.

She watched as her two companions nodded to each other and had less than a second to wonder what decision they'd come to when they both ran to the opening at the opposite end of the corner they'd been shoved into, Daryl going right and Aaron left mere moments before the first of their attackers came racing around a nearby pile of rocks.

Clenching her hands so tightly around the arms of the chair she was certain to have wood imbedded in her fingers later, Chelsea whipped her head back and forth as she tried to keep track of both of them.

When Daryl turned a corner only to nearly run right smack into a balding man with tattoos covering his head she found herself frozen in place, unable to so much as breath as he skillfully dodged the knife aimed at his chest and managed to not only slide around the other man but also deliver a fairly decent kick to his leg in the process.

Sucking in some much needed oxygen Chelsea searched out Aaron and was pleased to see he'd somehow managed to avoid the remaining four men by ducking in and around several boulders and partial corpses. She'd begun to think he was safe for the moment when suddenly one of the men jumped out of seemingly nowhere and sliced at his arm leaving a sliver of blood in his wake.

Aaron's response was to ram the other man into a pile of rocks with his shoulder and even though there was no possible way with all the screaming going on around her Chelsea was certain she'd head a sickening _crunch_ when the man's head collided with the jagged edge of a particularly large rock.

She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting from the crowd when the other man's body sank to the ground, but excited cheers were definitely not it. Even the man next to her seemed to find his henchman's death amusing, something which made her hate the man even more than she already did.

Resuming her attempts at freedom she kept her eyes trained on her companions' movement below and a few seconds later was rewarded with Daryl kicking the legs out from underneath the man that had been tailing him and then stomping on him multiple times for good measure.

Relieved that he was safe for the moment she turned back in Aaron's direction and saw that not only had he used the dead man's blade to free himself but now that he was armed he was going on the offensive.

Since Aaron was more or less on equal footing now Chelsea turned her gaze back towards Daryl and wasn't the least bit surprised to see that he was also free and armed. Unfortunately he'd also taken the time to search his downed attacker and didn't seem to notice the man looking down at him from the top of the low wall next to him.

As the man pulled a sword out and held it high over his head, no doubt intending to jump down and impale Daryl with it, Chelsea did the only thing she could think of to get his attention.

She screamed.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own The Walking Dead or anything affiliated with said series.

* * *

Daryl Dixon was no stranger to terrible situations; he'd been in more than a few throughout the years and with his luck figured there'd be plenty more to come. But few of them had ever made his heart stop so completely as when he'd woken up in that strange room and Chelsea had been nowhere to be found.

Memories of Beth and how he'd failed to save her assaulted him almost immediately, bringing to life the very real possibility that he might be too late to save Chelsea as well. That thought terrified him more than he cared to admit so he stood up and made sure that Aaron was still in fact breathing -he'd seen his chest rising earlier but it never hurt to double check- before moving to wander around the room because he was quite certain if he sat still any longer he'd go mad.

A short time later a groan alerted him to the fact that Aaron had finally woken up and he turned towards him in relief. "Ya alright?" he asked as he watched the other man shift into a sitting position.

"Head's a bit sore, but other than that I'm fine. Chelsea?"

Daryl shook his head. "Was gone when I woke up."

"How about you, are you okay?" When all he received in response was a half shrug Aaron tried again. "Anything bleeding or broken?"

"Ain't nothin' wrong with me."

"Good." Aaron was silent for a moment as he watched Daryl move about restlessly and then added, "She'll be okay. I doubt there's much that can take that woman down."

He wanted to believe that, truly he did, but Daryl couldn't stop the thoughts running rampant through his mind about what might be happening to her. And since he had no clue who had them, or how many of _them_ there were, the images in his head kept getting worse.

"I'm sure she's fine," Aaron reiterated as he watched Daryl continue to pace back and forth across the room. "She can take care of herself."

Giving no indication that he'd even heard him Daryl continued his movements. He'd already searched the room for anything useful, twice, but still couldn't manage to make himself stay still. A part of him was well aware of the fact that wasting his energy like this was a very bad idea, but he felt like a caged animal and every fiber of his being seemed to be screaming at him that he needed to do something, now.

Not that there was much he could do mind you, he'd already tried breaking down the door and there wasn't a lock on the inside to pick, but that didn't stop him from feeling on edge.

Hearing Daryl let loose what sounded like an angry growl Aaron decided he'd had enough and he got to his feet, moving so he was standing right in the other man's path. When it became clear that he wasn't going to stop Aaron pulled back his hand and slapped him across the face as hard as he could.

Daryl's head jerked to the side and it took him a second to realize what the sound had been, though the sudden blooming of pain over his cheek helped immensely. "The hell was that for?" he snapped, turning narrowed eyes on his companion.

"Good, seems I've finally gotten your attention."

When Daryl bared his teeth and clenched his hands tightly at his side Aaron offered him a small apologetic smile. "Sorry about that, but you weren't doing anyone any good wearing a hole through the floor like that. I need you here with me if we're going to get out of this."

Opening his mouth to yell at him, though for what he had no idea, Daryl closed it without a word. "Sorry," he grunted a few minutes later.

Glad to see that they were both on the same page finally Aaron waved off the apology. "No worries, but now that you're back how about we get to work busting out of here."

"Ain't gonna happen," Daryl muttered. "These guys're smart. Nothin' in here ain't bolted down, and no lock. We ain't leavin' till they come get us."

Aaron had come to the same conclusion himself and was pleased to see that despite his apparent lack of focus Daryl had actually done a fairly thorough check of the place. He was, however, a bit disappointed when the other man failed to offer anything else, like say a plan to take the men out when they opened the door or something.

Perhaps he was still a bit out of it.

"When they open that door you be waitin' just behind it. I'm gonna be on this side and when the first one steps in I'll shove 'im to ya. Ya take 'im out and I'll deal with the next one."

Then again, maybe not.

Nodding his head Aaron took his place by the door with a small smile on his face. He'd had something similar in mind but it was nice to see Daryl focused on something other than the thoughts inside his head. Not that he could blame the man, he'd taken quite a liking to Chelsea as well and if anything happened to her he'd never forgive himself, but thinking about the worst case scenario wasn't going to help anyone so he shoved those thoughts aside and brought himself back to the task at hand.

They didn't have to wait long for their captors to arrive and true to his word the second the door opened Daryl was pulling the man through it and pushing him in Aaron's direction. Unfortunately the man had expected something of the sort to happen and he ducked down before Aaron could grab him and wound up ramming his shoulder into Aaron's stomach.

Daryl heard Aaron's pained gasp but didn't have time to dwell on it as instead of one other man coming through the door he was faced with two. Not that he had a problem taking on two guys at once, he'd done it plenty of times before, but when one of them fired a warning shot a few inches from his head he did the smart thing and backed away slowly with his hands raised in front of him.

A quick glance showed him that Aaron was fine, a bit winded but he was standing on his own, so he turned his attention back to the man who's gun was still pointed in his direction.

"Now, now, there's no need to look so disappointed," the bald one wielding the gun said with a grin. "You'll get your chance for blood soon enough. For now though why don't you both be good little boys and come with me. I'd hate to have to do something that'll give you a disadvantage, it's no fun if you're not in top form, but make no mistake I will use force if necessary."

Daryl and Aaron shared a look, both saying without words that they'd bide their time and wait for a better moment to attack, and nodded curtly. The two other men took that as their cue that is was safe to approach and soon they both had their hands tied together behind their back and were being led out of the room at gunpoint.

"As I was saying," the one who'd spoken earlier began as they made their way down a dimly lit hallway. "We here like to think of ourselves as modern day gladiators, fighting for glory and all that. The arena is our source of entertainment, a rite of passage, hell, it's where our leadership is decided."

"I'm telling you all this because I want you to understand what an honor it is for you to be allowed to fight in it. Normally we'd have put a bullet in your head and left you on the side of the road, but since you brought us quite a little beauty the boss has graciously decided to allow you to die an honorable death."

Aaron looked appalled at that and Daryl shook his head with a snort. "What, ya expect us ta thank ya?"

The other man barked out a laugh at that. "Well, I suppose that'll depend on how decent you are in a fight. It's kill or be killed in the arena and no one much cares who comes out the victor. If you happen to be the last man standing a thank you wouldn't go amiss, and if not . . . well, I guess it won't really matter at that point will it."

They'd come to a stop next to a metal door while he'd been talking and one of the other men pushed it open and ushered them outside as soon as he was finished with his little speech.

Thankfully the sun wasn't too bright as his eyes had already adjusted to the semi-darkness of the hall, but it still took Aaron a moment or two before he could see clearly. Which was why he hadn't seen Daryl dive in for an attack as soon as the second man stepped through the door.

Daryl thought he'd timed it perfectly, having seen the door approaching and knowing that's where they were headed. With 'sir talks-a-lot' in the lead, followed by Aaron and the man with the dark shaved head, he figured he just had to wait until the other three were outside before making his move. Even with his hands bound like they were it wouldn't be too difficult to take down one guy.

So he'd waited for Aaron's captor to lead him out and then tackled the man next to him against the wall. Knowing he wouldn't have much time his next move had been to drop the man to the ground so he could try and get the door jammed shut before the others realized what was going on.

A well placed kick to the knees had the man falling to the floor, one final kick to the side of the head ensuring that he'd stay there, and Daryl spun around towards the door . . . just barely managing to avoid the full impact of the club that had been swung at him.

It connected with his temple, not hard enough to knock him out but enough to have him seeing stars for a few seconds, and he stumbled backwards a couple of steps as the blonde man who'd hit him stalked forward and grabbed him roughly by the arm.

The next thing he knew he was being shoved down a walkway of some sort into a huge pit that smelled bad enough to make him gag. He followed after Aaron who looked to be as disgusted as he was by the sights and smells surrounding them until they were forced to come to a stop at a dead end.

Between one breath and the next their captors had disappeared leaving them on their own inside the pit of death.

Aaron glanced up at the cheering crowd above them and a muttered, "Ah hell," fell from his lips as he spun in place slowly.

Seeing people excited for a brawl was nothing new to Daryl so he barely paid any attention to the screaming masses as he tried to come up with a plan to get them out of this mess. As his eyes scanned the surrounding area a slight change in the layout above him caught his eye and he found himself staring at an all too familiar face. "Chelsea," he breathed out.

It was a relief to see her in one piece and he would've called out to her if he hadn't seen the blood drain out of her face. He'd never seen her look that scared before and it took him a moment to realize that it was them she was worried about.

He'd been so thankful that she'd been unharmed he'd forgotten all about his current predicament, but it all came rushing back to him when Aaron hissed, "Daryl, get your head in the game!"

Turning to face him Daryl pulled up the mental map he'd made on the way in and jerked his chin in the direction they'd come from. "This place is set up like a maze," he said in a rush. "Lots a places ta hide, but no real way out."

Aaron nodded in agreement. "I noticed. So, any thoughts?"

"Ya head back out that way and I'll go opposite. Ain't gonna take 'em long if we stick together."

"That's it? That's the plan?"

Aaron didn't get an answer because before the words had finished leaving his mouth Daryl had already taken off running. With a shake of his head he took off after him, turning left when he reached the first pathway and ducking around a piece of rock that had lodged itself partway into the dirt wall next to him.

He could hear footsteps approaching from behind him so he darted down the path on his right and nearly ran right into a rock that was almost as tall as he was. It wasn't very wide and he'd been about to head around the left side of it when he caught sight of the decaying bodies in the opposite direction. Now getting up close and personal with a corpse wasn't exactly his idea of fun, but if he was lucky he'd throw his pursuer off his tracks long enough to find something to free himself with.

Diving into the pile of broken and twisted limbs he held his breath as the man he'd heard tailing him rounded the corner. The other man paused just long enough to give the area a cursory glance before taking off down another path and Aaron allowed himself a moment to relax.

A few seconds later several of the people from the edge of the arena began shouting and pointing in his direction and he shoved the disgusting body parts away and jumped to his feet. By the time the other man retraced his steps he was long gone.

He managed to avoid his next attacker by sheer luck, he'd accidentally slipped on some slimy substance he preferred not to think about and wound up sliding partway underneath a pile of rocks. That in and of itself wouldn't have been enough, but there'd also been a severed head lying a few feet away which he'd made good use of.

One tends to not look too closely at a body that's covered in dirt and grime if the head is sitting partially on one shoulder and facing the wrong direction, and this man was no different.

After that is was simply good timing and being quick on his feet that allowed him to remain ahead of his pursuers. Well, that and all the little hiding places he managed to find in and amongst the rocks and corpses.

Things had been going so smoothly for him that he'd started to think everything was going to be okay, which was of course when his luck changed.

Aaron had been in the middle of deciding on the next direction he was going to head when a squat man with a long graying beard stepped out from between two boulders right next to him. He didn't even see the weapon until after it had cut through his sleeve, but he certainly felt the pain it left behind.

Watching the grin on the other man's face as he held the hunting knife up to his mouth so he could lick the line of blood off its edge made Aaron's stomach lurch. These people were barbarians in every sense of the word and he found himself moving without thought.

Throwing himself at the other man Aaron managed to shove his shoulder into his chest with enough force to knock him back against the rocks behind him. The man let out a pained cry at the hit which was almost immediately cut off by a crunching sound when his head crashed into the pile.

By the time Aaron got to his feet it was apparent the man was dead and he lowered his head in a silent prayer before fumbling around in search of the knife that had fallen to the ground.

A short time later he was back on his feet, a look of triumph on his face as he twisted the blade around carefully so he could cut away at the ropes binding his wrists behind his back.

Shaking his arms to get the blood flowing properly again he moved the knife in front of him at chest height and went off in search of his next opponent.

ooooo

While Aaron had managed to avoid fighting for the first few minutes in the arena Daryl hadn't been quite so lucky. Shortly after leaving the other man behind he found himself face to face with a bald man whose head was covered in tattoos, which wouldn't have been too bad had he not also had a knife mere inches from Daryl's heart.

Years of fighting, both friendly brawls and not, had honed his instincts and his body twisted to the side of its own accord when the other man lunged forward. Continuing the motion he spun on his heel and wound up behind his opponent; kicking out and clipping him on the upper thigh. It wasn't enough to do any real damage but he was certain the other man felt it if his string of curses was anything to go by.

Without waiting to see what he was going to do next Daryl bolted down the nearest pathway, both to put some distance between them as well as lead him to a spot more suited to taking him down.

Two turns later and he'd found the perfect spot, an outcropping of rocks that stuck out just far enough to hide the bulk of his body. Now he simply had to wait for the other man to round the corner.

Holding his breath he kept himself as still and silent as possible as he listened for the man who was following him. It didn't take long for the squelching of his boots in the slightly wet ground to make its way to Daryl's ears and he prepared himself for what was to come.

"Come out come out wherever you are," the man sang as he poked his head around the rocks in search of his target. He thrust his knife forward assuming it would meet flesh and was momentarily stunned when it hit nothing but air. "The hell?"

Daryl had crouched down when he'd heard the other man approaching and as soon as the knife rounded the rocks he'd leapt up and rammed his head into the other man's chin. When he stumbled back hissing in pain, the knife falling from his grasp as he cupped his jaw, Daryl spun his leg out and caught the man's ankles causing him to drop to the dirt with a grunt.

Giving the stunned man a smirk he kicked him in the head, repeatedly and quite viciously, until he finally stopped moving.

With a bit of shuffling around he managed to get the knife the other man had dropped into his hands and was soon a free man. Well, at least not a bound one anyway.

Tucking the knife into the waistband of his jeans he bent down over the man's body and began searching him in hopes of finding something useful. Not surprisingly there wasn't anything on him other than an empty carton of smokes and Daryl was just about to stand up and head off in search of his next target when he heard something on the wall near him shift.

One of the most important skills in hunting is the ability to appear harmless to your prey. Sure you could do the 'hide yourself away for long periods of time waiting until something happened to stumble upon you' thing, but to be a truly great hunter you had to be able to walk among your targets without them being any the wiser.

Now normally he was the one doing the sneaking about, however, since the man nearby had already taken on the role of 'hunter' Daryl figured he may as well play the role of 'prey' for the time being. At least until the man made his move. Then they'd find out who the _real_ hunter was.

So he kept himself bent over the body before him, his hands absently moving about to keep up appearances, while his ears remained focused on the sounds above him waiting for the moment to attack.

He heard the man shift once again and was ready to leap to the side when a terrified scream was let loose. Every head in the area, including his, looked up in search of where it had come from leaving the arena deathly silent.

And then Daryl watched as the man sitting next to Chelsea slapped her across the face and started yelling at her and suddenly the noise was back. Even the man who'd been about ready to jump down and spear him with his sword was cheering at his leader's display, which as sickening as it was gave Daryl just enough time to flip the knife in his hand around and send it flying at the bastard who'd dared to raise a hand to his friend.

ooooo

Chelsea's cheek burned and she was fairly certain her lip was bleeding from the hit and as she continued to work her hands free from the rope, all the while ignoring the man's obnoxious voice as he continued to yell at her, she decided the first thing she was going to do when she got loose was return the favor.

"Prize or not," the boss man's voice turned to a growl and she was brought out of her thoughts. "Pull that shit again and I'll slit yer throat."

She was trying to decide whether to insult or spit on him when something flying towards them caught her eye a second before he fell backwards with a pained cry.

Blinking at the sudden disappearance of his face it took her a moment to realize what had happened, when she spotted the blade sticking out of his thigh though she couldn't help but laugh. "And here I thought you were supposed to be tough," she said mockingly as the rope loosened up enough for her to slip one of her hands partway out. "But all it takes is an itty bitty knife and you're down for the count. It's a wonder anyone follows you at all."

If Miles was here he'd slap her silly for egging on yet another deadly foe, but at least this time she was doing it for reasons other than it being fun. Not that she wasn't thoroughly enjoying herself mind you, but that wasn't actually the point of her comments. No, the real reason she was pushing his buttons was . . .

Narrowing his eyes the man pushed himself to his feet and hobbled over so he was standing directly in front of Chelsea's chair. Placing his hands on the arms of the seat he leaned over until he was nearly nose to nose with her and hissed, "Damn the rules, I'm going to take you back to my place and spend the rest of the week making you wish you were dead!"

. . . so he'd get close enough so she could grab the knife, now that she'd managed to get her arm free.

Taking a deep breath she reached her hand out and quick as a flash pulled the knife from his leg and slashed it across his stomach. When he stumbled back she cut the rest of the ropes binding her and then dove at his hunched form causing him to land flat on his back with her crouched over him, the blade pressed snugly against his throat.

It had all happened so fast that the men closest to the raised platform they were on didn't even have a chance to stand up and Chelsea rolled off to the side so she was less of a target when they reached for their guns.

"Unless you want to get filled with lead I'd tell your boys to back off," she ordered, pressing the blade deeper into his skin so it was drawing blood.

For a second she'd been worried that he would keep his mouth shut but self preservation won out in the end and he barked out, "Put those down you idiots!"

Everyone had stopped to watch the scene play out, including those in the arena and she was pleased to see that Aaron and Daryl were still standing. Although unless she did something soon they likely wouldn't be for very long.

"Alright, here's the deal," she began. "You're going to let my friends and me go or I'm going to cut you into little pieces and toss you down at the crowd. Are we clear?"

The glare he sent her way had her pushing the knife even deeper, only releasing the pressure when he muttered, "Yeah, clear."

"Good, now tell them to let them out."

With a glare he called out, "Play time's over, everybody out of the arena." And then as an afterthought added, "And I want those two prisoners brought to me."

No one seemed to question the order but Chelsea still kept her eye out for anything suspicious as the men in the arena led Daryl and Aaron back out so they were standing on the outskirts of the crowd. When they slowly began making their way around the pit to join her it became apparent that things were going a bit too smoothly.

There was no way this group was that loyal to the big oaf next to her, it just didn't make sense. And then she saw the subtle shifting around her and it all became clear. They weren't going to let them go they were simply putting the odds more in their favor.

While the guys had been in the arena they'd had a set amount of opponents, two of which they'd already dealt with, but out here every single one of the men was now a threat. And she'd led them right into the lion's den.

Cursing under her breath at her stupidity she rammed her fist into the boss' smirking face when he started to laugh next to her. Two more hits shut him up for the time being and she got to her knees while calling out, "Run, now!"

Her two companions didn't need to be told twice and they bolted in opposite directions at her command. Daryl plowed into the first man he came across, shoving him to the ground and at the same time stealing the gun he'd been in the process of pulling out of its holster.

It didn't take him long to empty the clip, though only about half of the bullets hit their mark, and he was bending over to grab another gun when he found himself being pushed out of the way and heard a scream behind him.

"Lucy!" a woman's voice cried and when he turned around he saw a young woman holding the body of another slightly older woman and crying into her hair. It didn't take long for him to figure out what had happened and with a snarl he scooped up the gun he'd been going after and let off two shots at the man who'd fired at him.

Knowing he couldn't do anything for the sobbing woman at the moment Daryl continued on his path taking out every single one of the men that he came across.

Aaron had had a much harder time commandeering a weapon as the three men closest to him seemed to be rather attached to theirs and he threw himself to the ground when they opened fire. Thankfully they weren't very good shots or he would've been dead already, but since he had nowhere to run and could only roll around on the ground so much before they started to hone in on him it was becoming apparent that he probably wasn't going to make it out of this alive.

And then the man closest to him dropped, a knife sticking out of his chest and he glanced up to see Chelsea standing over the body of their leader with a relieved look on her face. Giving her a grateful nod he sprinted over to the dead man and grabbed the two handguns he'd been carrying before turning around and shooting at the other two men.

They both fell a short time later and he took off after a small group of men who were trying to wrangle nearly a dozen women into the nearby warehouse.

Since the two men were armed and able to take care of themselves Chelsea turned her attention back to her own situation and frowned. Three men were making their way up the ladder at the back of the platform with matching looks of excitement on their faces and she realized that by saving Aaron she'd basically just signed her death warrant.

And then she saw the first one lick his lips as he stepped onto the wood planks to join her and suddenly death didn't sound all that bad.

"Thanks for taking out the boss for us," the redhead said with a leer. "It makes it that much easier for the boys and I to take over."

Chelsea waved him off. "No problem, glad I could help. Now if you don't mind I've got places to be so I'll just get out of your hair."

"Not so fast," the dark haired man behind him grinned and ran his eyes over her body slowly. "I think ya deserve somethin' for all yer help."

"I'm good, really."

The last man made it to the top, his shaggy blonde hair nearly covering his eyes, and added, "Ain't nothin' we got more 'an enough ta keep ya satisfied fer months, and bein' the generous fellas that we is we'd be glad ta take care a ya."

Having heard more than enough Chelsea considered her options and could only come up with one. Looking from the platform to the ground she figured it to be about ten or so feet up. Too high to jump without possibly breaking something, but if one had something to cushion their fall . . .

With a grin she raised her hand and pointed her finger at the dark haired man in the middle. "Eenie . . ." she began, her finger moving over to the blonde. "Meenie . . ." At this she swung her finger to the redhead and at his confused look her grin widened. "Miney . . ." He finally caught on but it was too late, by then she was already running at the blonde man with a cry of, "Moe!"

There's nothing like the sense of freedom you feel when you're flying through the air and Chelsea felt like time was standing still as she propelled herself and the man she'd run into off the edge of the platform. The screams coming from the man beneath her barely registered as they plummeted to the ground and she closed her eyes as she waited for the impact.

ooooo

Daryl had been so focused on taking out every man he came across that he'd forgotten about anything, _anyone_ , else. And then he'd seen a body go over the side of the lookout tower thing where Chelsea had been and it all came rushing back. The large, obviously male body fell quickly and he sucked in a much needed breath. For a second he'd been worried that Chelsea had been the one to fall.

Just before the body hit the ground his eyes widened and he cried out, "No!"

Because of the angle he'd missed it at first, but there had been a second body. One that had been much smaller and wearing a very familiar outfit.

Putting a bullet between the eyes of the last man he'd taken down so he wouldn't have to deal with his corpse later he jumped over the dead man and dodged several groups of cowering women as he raced to where the bodies had landed.

His steps slowed to a crawl when he was close enough to make out the blood pooling beneath them and his breath caught in his throat. Falling to his knees he looked at the lifeless bodies before him and felt as though his heart had been ripped out of his chest.

He'd been too late.

. . . again.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own The Walking Dead or anything affiliated with said series.

* * *

It hadn't taken Aaron long to dispatch the men he'd been after, dealing with the women took a bit more time. They'd all been pretty shaken up and he'd had to calm a couple of them down enough so they could console the others before he could get back out and help his friends.

When he stepped through the door he saw that most of the remaining men outside were down for the count and those that weren't were being hunted down by a very pissed off Daryl. Figuring the other man could handle the last ones on the ground Aaron took off in the direction of the tower where he'd last seen Chelsea, frowning when he saw that several men had joined her while he'd been otherwise occupied.

Raising his gun he growled in frustration when it became obvious that he didn't have a clear shot and he was about to call out for her to duck out of the way when he saw her stumble into one of the men. Seconds later he watched in horror as the two of them fell off the platform and dropped to the ground below.

When he heard Daryl's cry and saw him sink to the ground several feet from the bodies Aaron nearly collapsed as well, but he had to see for himself -to make certain she was truly gone- so he ran towards them as fast as his shaking legs would carry him. Sliding to the ground next to the bodies, his knees becoming slick with the blood that was spreading slowly from unseen wounds, Aaron reached out his hand and held it hovering barely an inch above Chelsea's still form as he felt tears well up in his eyes.

She wasn't moving, didn't appear to be breathing either, and he let out a ragged breath as he allowed his hand to gently come to rest on her back while choking out, "Chelsea."

Hearing her name said with such pain and anguish had Chelsea wondering if perhaps her body looked even worse than it felt. "Oh god, don't tell me I'm hideously disfigured," she groaned as she slowly forced herself away from the broken body beneath her.

Patting herself down she frowned when other than some seriously tender spots that would no doubt become very impressive bruises in the following days, she couldn't find any apparent damage to her body.

When she turned to face Aaron the look on his face was a mix between sadness and relief and she raised an eyebrow in question. "What's the matter, you look like someone nearly died."

As soon as she finished speaking it dawned on her that he'd probably thought _she_ was the one dying and she rubbed the back of her head with a sheepish grin. "Yeah . . . sorry about that."

Aaron let out watery chuckle and shook his head before reaching out and pulling her into a tight hug, which Chelsea returned with equal enthusiasm . . . for all of about two seconds.

Wincing at the sudden pain, she pulled back and was opening her mouth to joke how he was crushing her to death when a bullet flew past her head, grazing her cheek in the process. With a hiss she stumbled backwards as fast as her wobbly limbs would carry her, Aaron doing the same in the opposite direction as her eyes darted around in search of whoever was shooting at them.

When the next shots were fired she ground her teeth in preparation of the burning pain that she knew was coming, but forced herself to continue moving. If they wanted to kill her they were going to have to work for it dammit!

Surprisingly enough none of the bullets hit her and a moment later frantic movement above her had her not only figuring out who was firing at them, but also that said men were currently reloading. Aaron had apparently seen them as well as he was on his feet in an instant with a gun in his hand, but before he could take them out there were two shots fired off in quick succession and the men dropped almost immediately.

Spinning around in search of another possible threat Aaron relaxed slightly when he saw Daryl standing nearby with his gun still raised in the air. "Nice shooting," he called out, wiping his forehead with his sleeve and taking several deep breaths now that they appeared to be out of danger.

Rushing over to give Chelsea a hand when she tried to climb to her feet Aaron looked her over carefully. "Anything broken? Bleeding? How's your head? Any problems breathing?"

"Gee, you'd think I took a dive off a tower of something," she said with a touch of humor. Grinning when he shook his head she answered honestly. "As far as I can tell nothing's broken, can't see any blood at the moment, and other than being a bit tender all over I feel fine."

"Good." And then with a glare he added, "If you ever do something stupid like that again . . ." He trailed off but it was clear the threat was made out of worry and not something he planned on actually following through with.

Realizing that Daryl hadn't joined them Chelsea looked over and frowned when she saw he was still standing in the same place he'd been in, the only thing he'd done was allow his arm to fall to his side. "Yo, hunter boy, you okay over there?"

Daryl snapped out of his thoughts of _she's alive, she's really alive,_ which had been on repeat in his brain ever since he'd seen her move earlier and forced himself to return to the present. Shaking his head he took a shuddering breath before slowly making his way towards his companions, half afraid that any second the two of them would disappear.

When he was close enough Aaron reached out and gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze. "You did good man, saved us both back there."

Unsure of his voice at the moment Daryl dipped his head in acknowledgment, his eyes never leaving Chelsea's form. Honestly he hardly even remembered pulling the trigger, he'd reacted on pure instinct when he'd spotted the two men firing at his friends and his hand had moved without conscious thought. At that moment the only thing he was thinking was that he was _not_ going to let anyone else he cared about die.

He still appeared to be slightly out of it, his eyes seemed almost vacant, so Chelsea waved her hand back and forth in front of Daryl's face and grinned while saying, "Yoo ho, earth to hunter boy. Come in hunter boy," knowing that would get his attention.

Narrowing his eyes at the childish behavior Daryl snatched her hand out of the air with a muttered, "Brat." When she wrapped her fingers around his hand and squeezed he felt the tension slowly leaving his body. She really was okay.

As her fingers slipped from his grasp Chelsea smirked and couldn't resist adding, "Please, you know you love me."

Aaron practically choked on his tongue when she said that and barely managed to suppress his grin when Daryl turned a delightful shade of red and shoved his hands in his pockets with a grunt. "Well," he began, only to have to clear his throat to keep himself from laughing when Chelsea pouted cutely at Daryl's obvious dismissal. "If you two are done playing around," he tried again. "I think we should probably discuss what we're going to do."

Chelsea looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"He's talkin' 'bout the girls," Daryl muttered.

Still not sure what the problem was Chelsea cocked her head to the side. "Yeah, what about them? There are bound to be enough vehicles around here for us to take them all back at once so what's the problem?"

When Aaron and Daryl shared a look she growled in frustration. "Okay, enough. One of you needs to explain to me what the issue is . . . _now_."

Running a hand over his face Aaron hesitated before speaking. "They won't all be coming back with us," he said slowly, bracing himself for her outburst.

Chelsea's mouth fell open. "The hell they won't!" she snapped. "We're not going to leave these poor women out here by themselves!"

"Trust me I don't like the idea either, but in situations like this there are always those who can't adjust to a different way of life and we simply cannot allow people like that back into the community."

"People can change; you shouldn't toss them aside just because you're scared to give them a chance!"

Before Aaron could reply Daryl cut it. "He ain't doin' it ta be mean. Some a these girls 'll be alright, but some a 'em won't be able ta handle bein' free. Seen it plenty a times before, the ones that are use ta bein' abused can turn inta a monster themselves when they're suddenly set loose."

"That's bullshit and you know it. You just don't want to take the time to help them get over their tra-." Chelsea was cut off by an angry scream and a woman barreling into her from the side.

"You killed him! You killed my Lenny!" the woman cried as she raised the knife she held above her head.

In less than the time it took her to blink Daryl had grabbed the knife out of the woman's hand and yanked her to her feet, holding her arms firmly behind her back as she struggled to break free, and Chelsea could only stare up at the woman dumbly.

A short time later a hand was shoved in front of her face and she accepted Aaron's help in getting back to her feet. When he opened his mouth she leveled him with a glare and snapped, "Don't even."

Aaron shook his head before turning his attention to Daryl and the furious woman he held captive. "Ideas?" The shrug he received in response wasn't helpful in the slightest and he released a frustrated groan. "Well, I suppose we'll just have to do this the hard way then." Picking up the nearest handgun he held it out to Chelsea before grabbing another one for himself and jerking his head in the direction of the warehouse he'd left the women he'd helped out earlier.

"Alright, gather everyone up and we'll go through them all at once. Can't have one sneaking up on us again."

Chelsea still wasn't sure she agreed with him, but the woman's sudden attack had left her reeling so she did as instructed and began to round up the women who were outside. Most of them went with her with no problem once she untied their chains, though she did have to draw attention to the gun a couple of times to get a few of them moving, and it appeared as though Aaron was having similar luck with the groups that he'd gone after.

In less than ten minutes they were standing outside the warehouse door while Aaron called out, "This is the man who saved you earlier. I've got the rest of your friends out here and we're coming in."

Just to be on the safe side Daryl went in first with his prisoner held in front of him like a shield on the off chance that one or more of them was waiting to attack.

Thankfully there were no issues and soon all the women, minus the one who'd tried to kill Chelsea and was now leaning against a nearby wall unconscious thanks to a well placed knock on the head from Daryl, were huddled together in the center of the large room.

Chelsea and Daryl took up positions near the door while Aaron wandered back and forth in front of the group of almost thirty women, his eyes taking in every little detail of their behavior in an attempt to weed out those who they'd need to leave behind.

Knowing that Chelsea wasn't going to like what he was going to do next he caught Daryl's eye and then jerked his chin in her direction, silently telling him to keep her under control.

With a nod of his head Daryl headed over to Chelsea's side and leaned down so he could whisper into her ear. "Ya ain't gonna like what's comin' but it's gotta be done." When she didn't say anything in response he stepped back without another word, keeping himself close enough that he could stop her if she tried to step in.

Aaron took a deep breath to prepare himself for what he was about to do and then he stood up straighter and barked out, "Get on your knees you filthy whores!"

Several of the women dropped to the ground immediately, others more slowly, and then there were the ones who glared at him with their heads held high until he pulled out his gun and tapped it against his chin thoughtfully.

Chelsea swore under her breath as she watched the scene before her, but managed to force herself to remain still . . . somehow.

"Ah, look at you. So eager to please," Aaron continued in a voice that sent shivers down her spine. "Tell me, which of you would like the honor of being my woman?"

At this a couple more heads rose up to glare at him and he nodded, pleased with the results. Now he had just one more thing to try. "Well go on then, I haven't got all day." Seeing their confused looks he waved his hand over his body and grinned wickedly. "If you want to be my woman you've got to prove yourself worthy."

Not long after he'd finished speaking one woman began crawling on her knees towards him while several more stood up and headed his way. He'd been standing about half a dozen feet away and by the time the first one reached him there were six in total making their way in his direction.

"Alright, that's enough," he snapped when they started pawing at his clothes. "On your knees and don't move." When they all fell to the ground he stepped around them and walked back over to the women who hadn't followed after him. Bowing his head he apologized. "Sorry."

When Aaron turned and headed their way Chelsea sent him a look that clearly said 'what the hell' and then promptly followed it up by voicing the same question out loud. "What the hell? I thought we were going to bring them back with us."

"If I offered to take them with us after what I just did do you honestly think any of them would take me up on it?"

Opening her mouth to respond she paused as she considered his words before allowing it to slide shut. "No, I suppose not," she admitted. "So if you're not going to bring up Alexandria what are we going to do now?"

"And this is why it's helpful to have a second person along," Aaron offered by way of explanation when Daryl ran a hand through his hair and started walking towards the group Aaron had deemed safe.

Chelsea watched as Daryl slowly worked his way through the women speaking just soft enough that all she could make out were a few words of advice here and there. As he continued to move among them she glanced over at Aaron and asked, "Does this kind of thing usually work? The whole 'good cop bad cop' routine?"

"Sometimes. For obvious reasons we try to avoid it whenever possible, but we didn't exactly have any other choice this time."

They were silent for a minute before Chelsea finally asked the question that had been bothering her since they'd gotten to the warehouse. "If we hadn't gotten caught we wouldn't have helped them, would we?" Deep down she already knew the answer but she needed to hear it all the same.

Aaron took a deep breath and then shook his head slowly. "No, probably not." Feeling the need to justify himself he added, "As much as I would love to help every person I come across we're not out here to save people, not really. We're looking for other like-minded individuals to join us in making our community better. Now on occasion we do get the chance to rescue someone from a bad situation, but for the most part we stay away. Everyone has their own way of life nowadays and while we may not like it, neither do we have the right to destroy what they've built. Not unless it's absolutely necessary."

Staring at the women who were smiling and clutching each other happily Chelsea found herself thankful that this time it had been.

A few minutes later Daryl came strolling back over to join them and Aaron looked at him curiously. "So?" he asked.

"A couple 'em want ta stay here with that snivelin' group over there and start some kinda sanctuary or somthin'." Shaking his head at what he obviously considered a pointless endeavor he continued. "There's about ten of 'em are gonna head out on their own, they ain't willin' to follow by no one's rules but their own right now, but the rest would like to come back with us."

"Which ones?"

When Daryl pointed them out Aaron nodded his head. "Those are pretty much the ones I had picked from the start, though it's nice to see a few extras thrown in. All in all I'd say we didn't do too bad this trip."

Chelsea looked over at the women who'd separated into three groups; four heading towards the still kneeling group of women, nine making their way to the door, and the remaining seven walking in her direction. She tried not to think about what was likely going to happen to those who wouldn't be heading back with them, but with as helpless as they all looked it was turning out to be nearly impossible.

"Ain't no point in worryin' 'bout 'em," Daryl said from his place at her side. "They made their choice."

"True," she agreed after a moment's hesitation. "But I can't help feeling like we should do something to help them. After all they've been through it doesn't feel right just leaving them on their own."

"Ya can't save everyone, ya know that."

With one last look at the other two groups Chelsea turned her back on them with a murmured, "No, you can't."

Her words sounded so full of remorse and Daryl couldn't help wondering whose lives she was actually referring to, but he was smart enough to know when to keep his mouth shut. There were some things one just didn't do in this new world and bringing up the subject of those someone had been unable to save was right up there near the top of that list.

Acting as though he hadn't heard her final comment he turned towards the women shifting somewhat nervously before them. "Ya all ready ta go?" he asked.

There were a number of heads that bobbed up and down with a couple of yes's thrown in for good measure and he nodded his head. "Then let's get the hell outta here." Motioning for them to follow him he pushed open the door and headed outside.

Chelsea watched as the women followed after him and was about to head out as well when Aaron placed his hand on her arm.

"We're not going just yet," he began, holding up his hand to silence her when she opened her mouth to speak. "It's going to take them awhile to get our rides ready so while they're busy doing that you and I will see what supplies we can find around here."

"First of all, don't you think they might need some help with that? I doubt many of those girls know what they're doing and they'll probably just get in Daryl's way. And second, are you serious? You actually want to scour this place for stuff when we know that some of them are going to stick around!" By the time she'd finished speaking her hands were clenched at her sides and her eyes had narrowed in anger.

Aaron held up his hands and when he spoke he kept his voice calm and steady. "Don't misunderstand; I'm not saying that we should take everything from them, just enough to get all of us back safely. In case you've forgotten there are quite a few more of us now which means we're going to need food and a lot more weapons." And then to really get the point across he added, "Unless of course you think you can protect all of us with that one little gun you got on you."

Mentally kicking herself, she hadn't even thought about that, Chelsea shook her head. "Alright," she agreed. "But we only take what we need, nothing more."

"I wasn't planning on it." Pausing, he thought for a moment before adding, "Well, that's not entirely true. If I happen to find our things I'm grabbing those as well, but I don't really think that counts seeing as we brought that stuff here to begin with."

Shaking her head at his ridiculous statement, of course they would take their things back, she pointed one hand towards the door and the other to the far side of the warehouse. "So, boss, which way we headed?"

ooooo

As it turned out Daryl's group was done quite some time before Aaron and Chelsea finally walked out of the last building, their bodies laden with a variety of weapons and bags, so the pair made their way over to the odd assortment of vehicles to drop off the supplies they'd found instead of leaving them in a pile as they'd originally planned.

Stopping at the nearest car, some old rusted beater that looked like it should've been junked decades ago, Chelsea took one look at the half open trunk and immediately moved on. There was no way that one would've carried a piece of paper, let alone fifty odd pounds of gear.

The Ford truck that was sitting nearby seemed like a good choice and she was about to head over to it when she saw Daryl waving her towards the back of the group of cars. Passing by a minivan, some kind of sedan, and one of those tiny little 'smart' cars she used to laugh at when they first came out, she found herself standing in front of an old black Camaro that someone had dumped some serious money into at some point.

Even with the lack of care it had seen over the last few years it was still a thing of beauty. Red flames covered the hood and licked down the sides, the interior was covered in black leather and chrome, and it sported a set of heavy duty racing tires.

Chelsea was quite certain she'd died and gone to heaven.

"The girls said this was the boss' baby," Daryl said as he watched her eyes light up as she slowly walked down the side of the vehicle. "Figured ya might want it seein' as ya had one back before all this."

"This is for me? Really?" Seeing his nod Chelsea bounced up and down excitedly before dropping her load on the ground and running over to throw her arms around him. Squeezing him tightly she squealed in delight. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Hugging her back somewhat awkwardly Daryl mumbled out, "'s no big deal."

"No big deal?" Chelsea leaned back and stared at him in shock. "Are you kidding me? Of course it's a big deal. You knew how much I missed my old car so you got me one to replace it." Standing up on her toes she pressed a chaste kiss on his cheek and then stepped back so she could examine the car in more detail.

Aaron, who'd been watching the display with a grin on his face, walked over to Daryl once Chelsea had turned her attention to the car. Handing over the other man's crossbow and the rest of his gear they'd managed to find he couldn't help joking, "You know, most people give flowers on a first date. Not a car."

Leaving him to splutter about how 'it wasn't like that', and he 'had the wrong idea', Aaron grabbed the pile that Chelsea had dropped and returned to the van where the women were dividing up the supplies he'd left with them.

Setting down all but a few days worth of food and enough guns and ammunition to supplement their own stockpile he called out, "Once you've got all your gear stowed, load up. I'd like to get out of here before it gets too much later."

With the way he'd treated them earlier he was a little worried that they might ignore him, but now that they had transportation, and most of them were armed, they seemed more than willing to follow his orders for the time being. Which seeing as Daryl currently had his head sticking through the open passenger side window of the Camaro was a very good thing.

If he waited for him they'd be here all night.

It didn't take the others long to finish packing everything up and once the last door was closed tight Aaron turned around and went back to join his companions so they could head out.

When he reached their car Daryl was still chatting with Chelsea so he crawled in the back next to their gear and allowed Daryl to take the front seat. It wasn't the most comfortable, but he'd driven the entire way here so it was only fair that he take a turn in the back. Besides, the two of them were getting along so well he really had no desire to get between them.

As the car came roaring to life he leaned his head against the side window and closed his eyes. After all they'd been through he deserved a nap.

ooooo

The return trip seemed to fly by and in just under thirty-six hours they found themselves pulling to a stop outside Alexandria's main gate. Aaron, who'd taken over driving several hours ago stuck his head out the window and saluted the man on the other side.

"Good to see you," the man called out as he pushed the gate open and waved them inside.

Aaron led the convoy down the main street and came to a stop outside Deanna's house. Seeing Chelsea stretch and yawn in the seat next to him he said softly, "I've got this, you go ahead and get on home. I'll grab my stuff from your place later today." When she nodded sleepily he climbed out of the car, motioning for the women in the other vehicles to do the same.

Chelsea watched as he gathered the women up, a slightly apologetic look on his face as he no doubt relayed the 'no weapons' policy for the umpteenth time. While still not thrilled with how he'd treated them before they'd left they'd come to realize that Aaron was really quite a sweetheart and most of them had taken to him rather quickly.

Of course the fact that he had absolutely _no_ interest in them sexually didn't hurt.

A short time later they all began moving towards Deanna's front door and Chelsea shoved open the door and slowly climbed out, rolling her shoulders to relieve some of the tightness before walking around to the driver's seat so she could drive the short distance home.

At the sudden loud noise Daryl sat up in the backseat and rubbed his eyes. "Gimme a sec ta get my shit and I'll get outta yer hair," he mumbled, voice thick with sleep.

"I don't mind driving you back to your place."

"Nah, it ain't far. I'll walk."

She thought about arguing the point, but right now all she wanted to do was take a nice hot shower and sleep for a week so instead she shook her head in resignation. "Suit yourself."

It took him longer than usual to get himself out and on his feet with his gear thrown over his shoulder, the proof of their exhausting journey evident in every move he made, and Chelsea found her eyes drifting shut while she waited for him to finish.

When he gave her a half salute and turned towards his house she forced herself to wake up enough to get home in one piece.

Pulling into the driveway she shut the car off and forced herself to open the door so she could transfer inside. She managed to get one foot out of the car before Miles was at her side tugging her out the rest of the way. His eyes ran over her body in search of any injuries and when he didn't spot anything obvious he pulled her into a tight hug.

"Are you okay?"

Snuggling deeper into his comforting embrace Chelsea nodded. "I'm good. Tired and hungry, but otherwise perfectly fine."

They stood there for several minutes in silence until Miles pulled her back enough so he could look her in the eye. "Not to sound rude or anything, oh dear sister of mine, but you stink."

Blinking at his smirking tone she suddenly found herself laughing. "Wow, you sure know how to welcome someone home," she managed to get out between giggles.

Miles grinned and tugged her back in for another hug. Kissing the top of her head he wrapped his arm around her waist so he could lead her towards the door. "Alright, let's get you cleaned up and in bed. You're going to need your energy for when Natalie gets home in a couple of hours. She's been keeping all her school projects hidden from me ever since you left. She says she refuses to let me see them until she can show the both of us."

Chelsea knew that he wanted to talk about the trip, but instead of bringing it up right away he basically just told her he'd let it go until later. Leaning her head against his shoulder as they stepped inside the house she smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem. Now . . . about that car."

ooooo

Chelsea managed to get a total of three hours of uninterrupted sleep before she was pounced on by her energetic niece so the little girl could show her a collection of paintings and collages she made at school. 'Oohing' and 'aahing' as each new image appeared Chelsea smiled down at Natalie while she explained what each one was supposed to be.

It was while she was sitting there that the realization struck her that, despite how dangerous this recruiting trip had been, she was going to continue going out on them. There was no way she was going to sit around the community doing god knows what all day when she could be out there _saving_ people.

Her mind made up all she had to do now was figure out how to tell Miles without him freaking out. With the way he hadn't let her out of his sight since she'd gotten back that definitely wasn't going to be easy.

Thankfully she ended up having most of the day to think about it since Natalie kept them both occupied until late in the evening when she finally went upstairs to take a bath.

The moment the sound of her footsteps faded away Miles turned in his chair to stare at Chelsea's back where she stood washing up the last of the dinner dishes. Clearing his throat to get her attention he said, "So, about your trip."

Rinsing off the dish in her hand and placing it on the rack Chelsea wiped her hands on the towel and slowly spun around to face her brother. "Okay, first of all I want you to promise that you'll listen all the way through before saying anything." When he opened his mouth to argue she pressed on. "I mean it. Not a word until I'm finished, is that clear?"

He grumbled an affirmative and she took a deep breath before diving in.

Chelsea had considered abridging the story slightly, to make it easier for Miles to accept, but in the end she chose not to leave anything out.

As he listened to her speak Miles had to bite his lip to keep himself from going off on her, but he'd agreed to let her say her piece without interrupting and he was going to do his damndest to stick to it.

By the time she'd finished with her tale his lip was bleeding from the pressure and his hands were clenched so tightly he was afraid that he'd lost feeling in his fingers. After releasing his jaw and taking several slow, drawn out breaths he opened his mouth to tell her she was _never_ going to go on one of those trips again. What came out was very different.

"I'm proud of you."

Having expected a tongue lashing at the very least Chelsea was more than a little shocked by his softly spoken statement and she had to sit down when her knees went weak.

Running a hand through his hair he quickly added, "This doesn't mean that I'm okay with everything that happened to you out there, I'm not and probably never will be okay with you going on these trips, but at the end of the day you came back to us and that's all that really matters. And on top of that you managed to save all those women. I've got to say, you did good sis."

"So, you're not angry with me?"

Miles shook his head. "At you, no. I'm pissed at the men who hurt you and those other women, and I'm a bit annoyed that despite all that you've been through you still want to go back out there, but as much as I'd love to keep you here with us where I know you'll be safe I'm not going to stand in your way. You're a big girl; you can take care of yourself."

Reaching across the table she took his hand in hers and gave him a watery smile. "Thank you."

"Just don't go getting yourself killed out there and make me regret my decision." Slipping his hand out of her grasp he pushed himself to his feet and headed out of the kitchen to go check on his daughter.

Whether he heard her whispered, "I'll try," or not Chelsea couldn't be sure, but either way it didn't really matter. They both knew that that was one promise she'd never be able to make.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own The Walking Dead or anything affiliated with said series.

* * *

It was hardly surprising that the women they'd rescued kept to themselves for the first few days after Deanna had welcomed them to Alexandria and shown them to their new home. Nor was the fact that rumors were going around about several of them being pregnant. No, Chelsea expected something of the sort to happen so neither of those things were entirely unexpected.

What she hadn't anticipated was that three days after they'd gotten back, while she'd been outside shooing her brother and niece down the road so they wouldn't be late getting her to class, the strong-willed redhead -whose name she'd learned was Rena- would come stomping over to her with a furious look on her face.

"You disgust me," she spat and Chelsea took an involuntary step back at the venom in the other woman's voice. "I thought you were one of the good ones, someone the younger girls could look up to, but come to find out you're screwing around behind your husband's back. If I wasn't so grateful to you guys for getting us out of that hell hole I'd tell him all about your little boy-toy right this second. I'll keep my mouth shut for now, but know this . . . I'm watching you. And if I even _think_ you're stepping out again I'll be back over here in an instant!"

Chelsea stared openmouthed at the chastising finger that was aimed at her chest and tried, unsuccessfully, to say something in her defense. Instead she continued to remain frozen in place long after Rena had spun on her heel and stormed off.

"Well that was interesting," a humor laced voice said from behind her, finally snapping Chelsea out of her daze as she forced herself around to face its owner.

Carol watched as the furious redhead disappeared inside her house and shook her head with a chuckle. "There's a bit of fire in that one, misplaced though it may be."

"Please tell me you know what the hell that was all about," Chelsea began slowly. "Because I've replayed her little outburst over in my head and it's just not making any sense."

Chuckling at the bewildered look on the younger woman's face Carol placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "That right there is what one might call a misunderstanding." When Chelsea continued to look thoroughly confused she continued with a small shake of her head. "I'm sure she saw you and Daryl hanging around each other on the way here and assumed you were together. Then she finds out that you're already with another guy, and have a daughter no less, so she comes over here to warn you to quit your cheating ways or else."

". . . wait, are you trying to tell me that she thinks me and Miles are . . ." Waving a hand around she searched for a word that wouldn't make her want to throw up.

"Married, a couple, sleeping together," Carol finished helpfully, laughing at the look of disgust that fell across Chelsea's face.

"Yeah, uh . . . that."

Carol nodded her head. "Like I said, a misunderstanding."

Rubbing her hand over her face with a groan Chelsea glanced over at the door across the street that Rena had retreated into. "Great, now I'll have to figure out how to convince her that she's got the wrong idea. Why me?" she finished with a whine.

"Don't worry, I'm sure whatever you come up with will work out just fine," Carol replied soothingly. "Now if you'll excuse me I need to go and hunt down Daryl. That man is always sneaking out when there's cleaning to be done."

Watching as she walked away Chelsea sent one last look across the street before turning to head back inside. This morning when she'd woken up she'd planned on spending the whole day curled up in front of the fire with a good book.

So much for relaxing.

ooooo

By the time Miles had gotten back from dropping off Natalie, a trip which usually took at least a half hour since he'd stop to chat along the way, Chelsea had already considered -and rejected- several ideas and hadn't managed to come up with anything that wouldn't just end up causing more problems.

At first she'd thought about simply dragging Miles over to explain in person, but as his mouth tended to work without his brain's permission she figured that was probably a _really_ bad idea. He'd more than likely say something out of context and screw things up ever worse.

The next two plans all centered around sitting the four of them -herself, Rena, Miles and Daryl- down together to talk through things, but seeing as Daryl was nearly as bad as Miles when it came to saying what was on his mind those were also scrapped before they'd had a chance to completely form.

She was seriously considering begging Aaron to have a chat with the woman so he could work things out for her when Miles' voice broke through her thoughts.

"We are in so much trouble," he began seriously and his tone had her instantly on alert. "Natalie has invited everyone over here for dinner tonight and we've only got seven hours to get things ready!"

Throwing the nearest pillow at his head after her heart rate returned to normal Chelsea rolled her eyes. "You just took ten years off my life you ass. Next time, do me a favor and skip the ominous intro."

"But don't you see how horrible this is? There's no way we'll ever be able to have everything ready so quickly!"

Pushing herself to her feet Chelsea walked over and flicked her brother on the nose. "First of all, this isn't like those corporate parties you used to suffer through for work, it's just a gathering of friends. And second, what all do you think needs to be done exactly?"

Lifting his eyes skyward Miles starting ticking things off. "There's the food, of course, and drinks as well. The house is, obviously, going to have to be cleaned from top to bottom. Oh, and we're going to need to move the furniture around so there's enough seats for everyone. Then there's the yard which needs some serious tlc, and I'm pretty sure one of the lights in the hallway is out."

When he stopped talking long enough to take a breath she cut in with a smirk. "You know, someday you're going to make someone a wonderful wife."

"And we'll also . . ." Her words finally sank in and Miles snapped his mouth shut with a glare.

"Relax," Chelsea grinned while patting him on the cheek. "I know you just want to make sure everything's perfect since this is Natalie's party. Now, what would you like me to do first?"

ooooo

Growing up Chelsea had never really minded doing her chores so long as she could space them out over several days, so when she wound up doing the equivalent of two weeks' worth of work in only a couple of hours it wasn't really a surprise that she found herself wanting to strangle her baby brother with one of the many cleaning tools he'd thrust at her when they'd gotten started.

The only thing that kept her homicidal desires from being acted on was the fact that he was working even harder than she was. It also helped that soon after lunch Natalie had come home and joined them as well giving them not only another pair of hands, but an adorable ball of energy that kept them both smiling with the many details of her adventures at school.

By the time the first person knocked on their door many hours later the house was spotless, the yard was in order, the food was just coming out of the oven, and there were bouquets of flowers strewn about for color.

All in all the trio were quite proud of their accomplishments.

"Auntie Chelsea, auntie Chelsea," Natalie called out as she bounced up and down next to the front door. "Can I let them in now?"

Chelsea stepped out of the kitchen wiping her hands dry on her jeans as she joined her niece. "You know you have to wait for an adult, sweetie."

"So now can I?" Seeing her nod Natalie pulled open the door and beamed up at her first guests. "Hello, and thank you for coming!" she chirped excitedly.

"Hey there little one," Maggie said as she leaned over to ruffle Natalie's hair. "Thanks for inviting us."

"Yeah, I've been looking forward to that apple pie you mentioned all day," Glenn added with a smile.

Putting on a serious look Natalie shook her finger at him. "No pie until after dinner, mister. That's the rules."

Maggie laughed at Glenn's pout. "Don't worry; I'll make sure he keeps his hands off dessert."

Certain she could trust the older woman Natalie nodded her head and pointed over her shoulder towards the kitchen. "Daddy says to make yourselves a plate and find a seat." And then in a whisper only marginally softer than her normal speaking voice she added, "He'd tell you that himself but he accidentally caught his shirt on fire while he was cooking so he's upstairs changing."

Chelsea just barely managed to smother the snicker that threatened to break out at her niece's admission. "Speaking of, why don't you go and see what's taking him so long."

With a bob of her head Natalie disappeared up the stairs and Chelsea, sensing their curiosity, explained. "It wasn't too bad really, just a little grease fire. His over-shirt got a little too close to the stove while he was frying onions and he caught the edge of it on fire. It never even touched his skin, but with the way he was flailing around you'd think he'd been being burned at the stake."

"It sounds like you guys had an exciting evening," Glenn chuckled with a shake of his head.

Stepping aside so they could go grab some food Chelsea waved at the familiar faces she could see heading down the street. "That it was," she agreed. "And the night has only just begun."

By the time Natalie came back downstairs a few minutes later with Miles close on her heels it seemed to Chelsea as though she'd let in three-quarters of the whole neighborhood. Along with Glenn and Maggie there was the rest of their gang, including Sasha who'd decided to take some time off watch duty to say hello and Rick who'd brought along his son Carl.

Carol had brought over a casserole with her and Aaron had managed to snag a bottle of whiskey from somewhere. Even Deanna had come bearing gifts, although most people avoided her lumpy cranberry sauce like the plague.

Along with Natalie's teacher and several of the other kids' parents there were also quite a few people she barely knew, having only met them in passing a few times, but everyone seemed very cordial and as the house continued to fill up Chelsea couldn't help but feel a sense of normalcy wash over her.

The world had gone to hell and yet here they were having a party with all their neighbors. Times sure were strange.

When dessert came out a short time later Chelsea excused herself from the conversation she'd been having with a man named Peter about the community's expansion and headed over to where Natalie was pacing back and forth near the door. "Hey kiddo, what are you doing?"

Without pausing her steps she muttered a reply of, "Waiting."

Since she didn't appear interested in elaborating Chelsea placed her hands on her niece's shoulders and slowed her to a stop so she could look her in the eye. "Waiting for what?"

"For everyone else to show up."

Glancing around at the rather large crowd, it had spilled outside onto the porch quite some time ago, Chelsea looked at her curiously. "I don't know about you but it seems to me that everyone is already here."

"No, they said they'd come but they're not here yet."

"Who?"

A knock on the door interrupted them and Natalie spun around excitedly. "They're here!"

Chelsea opened her mouth to repeat her earlier question when the door was pulled open and she came face to face with Rena. It was only thanks to months of practice that she managed to keep the choice words she'd been tempted to snap out from slipping past her lips.

Instead she forced a smile onto her face and said through clenched teeth, "Welcome, come in and make yourselves at home."

The glare that was sent her way had her wanting to reach out and strangle the woman, but seeing as her niece was standing not two feet away waving at the small group of women and ushering them all inside she clenched her hands at her side and forced the cheery smile to remain on her face.

"So this is the kitchen," Natalie pointed out as she led them further inside. "Please make yourselves a plate. The living room is through there and if there are not enough seats just tell daddy and he'll grab more from outside."

"Well aren't you just the perfect little hostess," an older woman with ashy blonde hair cooed.

Chelsea watched as Natalie beamed up at the woman and then her niece disappeared behind the other two women who'd come along. Since the others were busy for the moment she quickly turned her attention towards Rena who'd moved just inside the kitchen, keeping herself between Chelsea and the three women she'd come with.

And the glare was _still_ on her face.

When the others filled their plates and filed out of the room after Natalie Chelsea crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes. "Are we going to have a problem here? Because if you're just going to stand around trying to disintegrate me with your eyes the entire time you're here I'd like to know now so I can find somewhere else to be."

Ignoring the question Rena mimicked Chelsea's stance while saying, "You know, when that little girl came over earlier with an invitation to a party I was ready to slam the door in her face."

Chelsea's eyes narrowed even further when she heard that and she opened her mouth to snap at her for even considering doing such a cruel thing to her niece, but Rena held up her hand for silence and continued.

"Then I realized that it isn't her fault her mother is a two-timing hussy so the girls and I talked it over and a few of us decided it would do us good to get out and meet some of our neighbors."

"Now wait a minute, I am _not_ a hu-."

"But," Rena pressed on. "Make no mistake, this changes nothing."

When she closed her mouth Chelsea opened hers to try and finally set things straight, which of course was precisely the moment Daryl chose to join them in the kitchen.

"Hey Chelsea," he said with a small smile. "Been lookin' all over for ya.

Rena growled out some rather unpleasant words and stormed out of the room at that and Chelsea beat her head against the wall with a groan. "Of all the . . ." Trailing off she peaked over at Daryl through her hair. "What do you want?" she grumbled. "Besides to ruin my life."

The confused look on his face had her pinching the bridge of her nose as she forced herself to calm down. "Ignore that. Now, let's try again. What's up?"

Looking back and forth between Chelsea and the empty spot Rena had once occupied Daryl scratched his head in confusion before pushing it out of his mind and getting down to business. "Miles sent me ta find ya. Said they're runnin' low on snacks out there and ya should bring in the rest of the bags."

"And why, pray tell, can he not do that himself?" she asked. "Wait, don't tell me. His legs have fallen off, right? Or maybe he's been inflicted with some sort of virus that makes him incapable of doing anything remotely helpful."

"Um, ya feelin' okay?" Daryl asked worriedly as he eyed her closely. He was used to her being mouthy and sarcastic, but usually she did it with a smile. Right now she looked about ready to kill someone and he had to force himself to remain where he was for fear of setting her off.

Taking several deep breaths, she'd obviously not been as in control of herself as she'd thought, Chelsea tried again. "Sorry about that, didn't mean to take my anger out on you."

Pleased to see her returning to her old self Daryl gave her a half shrug. "Ain't no problem, we've all been there." When she didn't say anything in response he continued. "So, ya want me ta tell 'im to deal with it 'imself?"

"No, I'll take care of it. Thanks for letting me know." Waving him off she watched as he hesitated at the doorway so she smiled and added, "I'm okay, really."

Giving her one last long look Daryl nodded curtly before stepping out of the kitchen.

Now that she was alone Chelsea wondered just why she was allowing this to get her so worked up. I mean sure it was a little disturbing that Rena thought her and Miles were a couple, but what harm was there in the woman believing that? It's not like anyone else thought that way around Alexandria.

As she wandered around the kitchen grabbing the bags of snacks she continued to mull over the issue but nothing seemed to stand out. That is until she started looking at it from the other way.

The heart of the matter hit her like a ton of bricks and she nearly dropped everything in her hands as she sank against the counter. It wasn't the whole 'Miles' thing she had a problem with, though that _did_ bother her, it was what all this was going to do to Daryl.

If Rena had been talking with the rest of her group about this then they all not only thought that she was having an affair, but that one of the men who'd helped rescue them was knowingly sleeping with a married woman.

He didn't deserve a reputation like that, especially since it was all a load of crap.

Clenching the bags in her hands so tightly she was probably crushing some of the food, she pushed herself to her feet and decided right then and there that she would set things straight as soon as possible. No way was she going to allow those women to think badly of Daryl for any longer.

Her mind made up she stormed out of the kitchen and into the overcrowded living room in search of her brother so she could hand her packages over to him before she went off to find Rena.

As she neared her target, having dodged at least half a dozen questions about everything from her last trip outside the walls to the recipe for one of the dishes, Chelsea came to an abrupt halt when she spotted not only Miles but Rena as well.

She hadn't counted on them being together and was a little worried about what he was saying to her and how much worse he was making things, but quickly decided it didn't really matter. She was going to end this . . . now.

Coming to a stop in front of the pair Chelsea held out her arms and dropped the bags into Miles' lap. "Here you go dear _brother_ ," she began, stressing the word as she looked Rena right in the eye. "Anything else I can do for you this fine evening?"

Miles, completely used to her sarcasm as he'd been putting up with it his whole life, tapped his chin in thought. "You know, now that I think about it we could do with some mo-." Whatever he was going to say was cut off by a blonde haired blur barreling into his chest.

"Daddy, daddy, Tracy and Vivian said I could spend the night sometime! Isn't that great?"

Wrapping his arms around his little girl Miles grinned down at her. "That's wonderful, how about we talk about it later though sweetie. Maybe after everyone goes home."

Natalie pursed her lips in thought and then held out her hand seriously. "It's a deal."

After shaking hands Natalie hopped back down to the floor and reached up to grab onto Chelsea's hand, shaking it to get her attention. "Auntie Chelsea, Carol wants to know if she can finish baking the other pie. Oh, and she also said she can make a cobbler if you're interested."

Crouching down so she was eye level with her niece Chelsea tapped the little girl's nose with her finger. "Yes and yes," she replied before turning serious. "But make sure you let her know she's not allowed to cook in the kitchen without your supervision."

With a whoop of delight Natalie spun around and raced through the throng of people disappearing from sight in seconds. Chelsea shook her head and stood up to find Miles already dishing out the remaining snack supply. When she finally allowed her eyes to fall on Rena she raised an eyebrow at the look on the other woman's face and asked, "So, we good?"

Rena looked like a fish out of water, her mouth opening and closing repeatedly with no sound coming out, until eventually she managed to squeak out, "I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

Running a hand through her hair Chelsea stared at the woman who couldn't have looked more ashamed if she'd tried before shaking her head. Grinning, she gave her a friendly pat on the back. "No harm done. Let's just forget about it and move on."

The two fell into an easy conversation after that. They weren't quite friends, not yet anyway, but at least they were no longer enemies.

Although when Rena started asking about how long she and Daryl had been together, and refused to believe they really were only friends, Chelsea began to think that fighting was a much better alternative.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own The Walking Dead or anything affiliated with said series.

* * *

Natalie's party was the talk of Alexandria for several days, everyone agreeing it was the best they'd ever been invited to if for no other reason than to see a smile light up the little girl's face. And despite the fact that it took nearly that long to get things cleaned up and back to normal, Chelsea had to agree that it had been a great idea. Everyone seemed much more relaxed and friendly with each other now.

Of course seeing as nearly everyone had partaken in the alcohol at some point by the end of the night many of them were a bit more than tipsy so she figured that wasn't all that much of a surprise. It was hard to stay distant with someone you'd sang a love song with, or cried all over, or in one memorable case even gone so far as to give a lap dance to.

Oh the blackmail possibilities.

. . . not that Chelsea would even dream of doing something like that nowadays.

But if she did happen to mention certain situations whenever a perfect opportunity arose, well she never claimed to be a saint.

Chelsea was remembering a particularly hilarious moment between Mark and Nathaniel, two totally straight guys who were hanging all over each other after they'd managed to down half a bottle of Jack together, when she was brought out of her musings by the front door slamming closed.

"We're home!" Natalie's cheery voice echoed throughout the house.

"And we come bearing gifts," Miles added a moment later.

"In here," Chelsea called out from the kitchen as she resumed her task of making soup for lunch. "And if those gifts move in any way I'm throwing them, and _you_ , outside." The last time Miles brought her a _gift_ was when they were kids. She wasn't normally afraid of spiders, but when he dropped that gigantic furry creature on top of her head she'd screamed . . . and then promptly punched him in the face.

Good times.

"Not to worry sister dear," Miles continued as he and Natalie stepped into the kitchen. "These are edible gifts, from Rena."

Chelsea wasn't sure what she thought about Miles spending so much time with the redhead, but she supposed it was better than him chasing around Michonne all the time. At least Rena hadn't threatened to slice him up and serve him for dinner . . . yet.

Reaching across the counter to peek inside the bag he'd just set down her eyes widened when she saw what was inside. "This is all for us?" she asked in surprise.

Miles watched as she slowly pulled out the tub of chocolate dipped fruits and nodded. "Yep, said something about making up for 'something'. Not sure what she meant by that exactly but I wasn't about to kick a gift horse in the mouth so I said thanks and took it before she could change her mind."

"Can I have a banana one?" Natalie cut in as she popped her face over the counter and stared at the goodies like they were the most delicious things she'd ever seen.

"Not until after lunch kiddo," Chelsea replied with a shake of her head. Picking up the fruit she turned around and pulled open the fridge so she could put them inside. "No one's getting any until every bit of their food is gone."

With a pout Natalie climbed onto her seat and stared at the empty bowl in front of her in resignation. "Okay," she sighed at the same time Miles muttered, "Yes mother," under his breath and moved to join her at the table.

Making a mental note to thank Rena in person later, and possibly make her something nice in return, Chelsea removed the pan from the stove and headed over to dish out the food.

Lunch was a fairly typical affair. Natalie talked about school, Miles went on about . . . well, something, and all the while Chelsea sat there listening with a smile on her face.

And then came the knock on the door.

Seeing as her brother and niece were currently arguing over the last piece of toast Chelsea stood up and went to go check it out, figuring it was either Carol with their missing casserole dish or Nina with something Natalie had left at school.

Pulling the door open she froze when she came face to face with Aaron.

"Hey," he began with an apologetic look on his face. "I know it's barely been a week, but it's time to head out. We got word of another possible group about a hundred miles west of here and I'd like to catch them before they head into the mountains."

Frowning slightly, she'd thought she'd have a bit more time between trips, Chelsea squared her shoulders and nodded. "Alright, when do we leave?"

"How long do you need?"

Glancing back towards the kitchen she took a deep breath. "Give me fifteen minutes." When he nodded and turned to leave Chelsea allowed the door to slide shut behind him and leaned back against the hard wood to steady herself.

After taking several deep breaths she pushed away from the door and, deciding it would probably be best to get ready to go first, headed upstairs to pack. Quickly grabbing everything she'd need she tossed it into her bag and headed back downstairs.

Setting her stuff by the door she ran a hand through her hair before slowly making her way into the kitchen.

"Who was . . ." Miles trailed off when he caught the look on Chelsea's face. Knowing it could only mean one thing he took a deep breath and turned to his daughter saying, "Hey Nat, auntie Chelsea has to go on another trip so why don't you go grab that present you made for her, okay?"

Looking up from her nearly empty bowl Natalie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "But she just got back a few days ago."

"I know, and I'm sorry," Chelsea said as she leaned over and ruffled her niece's hair. "But there are people out there who need my help. You understand, right sweetie?"

Setting her spoon down on the table Natalie thought about it for a second before nodding.

"Good girl. Now, what was that I heard about a present?"

At the reminder Natalie's eyes widened and she jumped down from her chair and raced out of the kitchen leaving the siblings alone together in silence.

"Any idea how long you're going to be gone?" Miles asked a short time later, rubbing a hand over his face in frustration when he saw her head shake back and forth. "Well be careful, and take care of yourself."

As he stood up and turned to walk away Chelsea reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him. "I'll be back soon, okay?"

Blinking back his tears he nodded, and then because he couldn't resist he jokingly replied, "Well there's a threat if ever I heard one."

Sharing a laugh they walked to the front door together and arrived moments before Natalie came racing down the stairs to join them.

"This is for you, I made it myself," Natalie said proudly as she held up a necklace made of macaroni noodles and beads. "It'll help keep the bad men away."

"Thank you, it's beautiful." Grabbing the necklace Chelsea slipped it over her head and leaned over to kiss Natalie on the forehead. "I'll wear it always." Pulling the little girl into a hug she held on far longer than usual. With one final squeeze she released her and stood back up.

Picking up her pack she tossed it over her shoulder and looked her brother in the eye. "You take care."

"You too."

Snagging one last quick hug from her niece Chelsea yanked open the door and stepped outside. "I'll see you guys later."

"Bye auntie Chelsea!" Natalie called out with a wave from where she was tucked against Miles' side.

Waving goodbye Chelsea sent Miles a mock salute which he returned by flipping her off. Shaking her head, that was usually her thing, she couldn't stop the small smile from forming on her face. So long as they could still joke around when she was leaving she knew everything was alright.

If the day ever came when that changed . . . she was done. As much as she liked helping people she wasn't going to do it at the cost of Miles' sanity. No one was worth hurting her family for.

Eyeing the minivan in the driveway, the same one they'd brought back with them the last time they'd gone out if she wasn't mistaken, she chuckled at the sight of Daryl sitting in the driver's seat. "From hunter boy to soccer dad," she joked as she pulled open the back door and slid inside. "You're moving up in the world."

Glaring at Aaron's snort Daryl jammed the car into gear muttering something under his breath that although the words were impossible to make out the tone was more than enough to get the point across. Pulling the van onto the road he ignored the stifled laughter coming from the backseat as he headed to the gate.

After a quick stop at the armory to pick up their weapons they found themselves waiting for the tall metal fence to be pushed out of the way.

When their path was clear the man on guard duty offered them a two fingered salute and Daryl drove off down the deserted road towards town.

Aaron pulled a map out and spread it across his lap, using his finger to trace an invisible line over several different possible route options as they left Alexandria behind. After a couple minutes of soft mutterings he pointed at a nearby road sign. "Follow Highway 901 north until you reach the old mill, then turn off onto West Briton Road. It's not the most direct route, but it should let us avoid most of the populated areas so hopefully we won't run into many walkers."

Getting a nod from Daryl he handed the map back to Chelsea. "You're going to want to start familiarizing yourself with this area," he offered by way of explanation when he saw her confused look.

Chelsea stared at the map for a moment as the gravity of what he just said sunk in before tipping her head and taking said object from his hand. She'd nearly forgotten that Aaron was planning on quitting the recruiting business and that she was to become his replacement.

Trying not to think of how different things would be when he finally did retire she flattened out a section of the map in front of her and began to follow the different roads that surrounded Alexandria.

ooooo

The ride was short, a little over three hours including a pit stop, and mostly uneventful. They'd avoided a couple groups of walkers, and had to stop to clear out the wheel wells of body parts after driving over the group they _didn't_ miss, but otherwise they'd had pretty smooth sailing.

Unfortunately it also turned out to be a complete waste of time.

"Ya sure this is it?" Daryl asked for the third time in as many minutes.

Aaron pinched the bridge of his nose and took several deep breaths as he repeated his answer yet again. "Like I told you before, this is where they said they'd be." When Daryl opened his mouth once more he narrowed his eyes. "And before you ask, yes, I've already double-checked the map."

"Wasn't gonna," Daryl grumbled.

Chelsea watched the two in silence. She could understand their frustration, it sucked to get all the way out there only to find out that they needn't have bothered, but there was really no reason for them to continue discussing it.

One simply had to look around to know that the location was all wrong. First, the building had far too many windows to make securing the place worthwhile. And second, it was literally right off the road with most of the aforementioned windows facing the street.

All in all it was a terrible place to hide out; anyone with half a brain could figure that out.

Daryl, having finally had enough arguing with Aaron, started making his way around the left side of the building with his crossbow at the ready. They were already there so he figured he may as well have a quick look around to see if he could find anything useful to scavenge.

Chelsea followed after Aaron as he moved to take a peek inside the nearest window. "Looks as if that info you got was a little out of date," she said conversationally.

"It does appear that . . ." Trailing off Aaron cocked his head to the side as a sudden sound met his ears. Leaning closer to the window his eyes widened at the all too familiar groan he could hear coming from behind it.

"Back to the van!" he cried, spinning around as quickly as he could.

Not entirely sure what was going on, but trusting his judgment one hundred percent, Chelsea took off after him a moment later and saw Daryl doing the same a few dozen feet away.

As Chelsea passed him by and took the lead Aaron glanced back over his shoulder in time to see the door to the building burst open as a horde of walkers came stumbling out. When he turned back around, thankful that he'd figured out what was going on before the dead had been let loose, he tripped over a broken bicycle that had been left lying about and crashed to the ground with a pained yelp.

Ignoring the throbbing in his ankle and the blood he could feel dripping down his leg he forced himself to his feet and started hobbling along.

"Aaron!" Daryl shouted as he nearly slid to the ground himself in his haste to change direction so he could go and help his friend.

Chelsea heard Aaron's cry and looked over at the same time Daryl turned to make his way towards him. Since help was on the way she continued forward figuring she could get the van started and ready to go before they arrived.

Cursing himself for deciding to park the van a safe distance away Aaron looked out at the fifty or so undead trailing after them as Daryl was moving to pull his arm over his shoulder and came to a decision. There was no way the two of them would make it to the van in one piece, not with his ankle in the shape it was, the walkers were simply too close. "Leave me," he ordered, his voice filled with resignation as he pulled his gun out and aimed it at the head of the nearest walker. "Get to the van while you still can and get out of here."

"I ain't leavin' ya," Daryl snapped, wrapping his arm around Aaron's waist and pulling the other man tight against his side. "Now get yer ass movin'!"

Twenty or so feet away from the van Chelsea checked back on her friends and was terrified to see that the first of the walkers was practically on top of them. In an instant she played through her options, either continue to the van and hope she could get back to them in time or retrace her steps and draw the walkers away to give them time to escape, and in less time than it took her to blink she'd made up her mind.

Doing an abrupt about face she pushed herself as hard as she could and managed to cover most of the distance separating them by the time the two men found themselves starting to be swarmed. Slipping her machetes from her belt she reacquainted herself with their heft before diving headfirst into the fray.

"Back off," Daryl growled, pulling his crossbow up and shooting the closest walker between the eyes with his free hand.

Aaron blew the back of the head off another, tossing the gun aside when he heard the tell-tale clicking sound signifying it was empty, and told him through clenched teeth, "You need to go. I'll keep them occupied so you can get free."

"I already said I ain't leavin' ya."

"If you don't go now you're just going to die along with me!"

"Nobody's dying," Chelsea stated firmly, her blade taking off half a walker's face as she joined the two in their fight. "Now you two get the hell out of here while I draw them off. I'll meet you down the road that way about a mile or so once I get clear."

"Ain't no way I'm leavin' ya ta take 'em on yourself," Daryl said as he dropped another walker with his knife.

"He's right; you two should go while you still can."

Kicking at the walker next to her foot who'd crawled a little too close while she'd been otherwise occupied Chelsea shoved her blade deep into its skull and then sliced upwards when she pulled it free to take the head clean off the walker in front of her. With two quick swings she took out another three corpses which gave her just enough time to level Aaron with a serious glare.

"You, shut the hell up," she began before turning on Daryl. "And you, get him to the van."

Her voice left no room for argument and since he couldn't think of a better plan Daryl nodded and did as he was told. Taking Aaron's arm again he paused long enough to say, "We'll be waitin'," before dragging the other man off in the direction of the van.

As he lost sight of her amongst the walking dead Aaron shoved Daryl hard enough that he almost sent them both to the ground. "How could you leave her there to die?" he demanded. "I thought you two were close, but you must not care about her at all if you're willing to throw her life away so easily!"

"Shut yer mouth!" Daryl snapped, his eyes flashing with anger. "She ain't gonna die!"

Feeling the shaking body beneath his arm Aaron swallowed thickly as they neared the van and Daryl pulled open the passenger side door. "Forgive me," he apologized. "You know I didn't mean any of that, it was just the pain and fear talking."

Helping Aaron into his seat Daryl threw himself inside as well and cranked the key in the ignition seconds after he'd slammed the door shut. Dropping it into gear he peeled out onto the road and sped off in the direction Chelsea had indicated, his eyes keeping track of the numbers on the odometer.

When he remained silent Aaron reached over and placed a comforting hand on his arm. "She's going to be okay."

ooooo

Chelsea regretted her decision the moment the others were gone since not only did she have to fight to keep the ones closest to her from sneaking a bite, but she also had to keep the others from running off which was proving quite difficult as the group of undead spread out.

Hacking the arm off one and a good chunk of the head off another she spun around to see which ones she needed to take out next and narrowly avoided a little girl who'd managed to sneak between the legs of the other walkers around her.

Raising her arm to attack Chelsea was struck by how similar the child looked to her niece and she froze in shock.

That was all the opening they needed.

In no time at all Chelsea found herself half buried under several rotting bodies, the stench of which caused her eyes to water and her stomach to heave.

Twisting back and forth as their combined weight began to push the very breath from her body, she somehow managed to avoid the jaws of those closest to her and was extremely grateful she was wearing thick clothing as she felt their hands grabbing at her. With a jerk of her leg and a hard shove from her right arm she turned her upper body enough to shift the two walkers who were currently pressing her into the ground over far enough to allow her right hand the freedom it needed.

Smashing the handle of her machete into the base of the first one's neck she thrust upwards with enough force to tear its half rotted head from his body. As the head rolled off to the side the second walker began to climb over the headless corpse only to find the blade of that same weapon buried under its chin and deep into whatever remained of its brain.

Tossing the two creatures aside Chelsea jumped to her feet while grabbing her second machete which she'd lost during the fall, and with a hard kick the kneeling walker who'd been at her side trying to get to her through the bodies she'd just disposed of went flying backwards into the crowd.

Turning to face the remaining undead army she wiped the blood from her forehead, sank into a fighting stance and spat out, "Alright, which one of you assholes is next?"

Having heard the van leave some time ago and judging them well out of following distance by now, Chelsea looked around in search of the path of least resistance. Now that she was no longer needed to keep their attention she simply had to clear an opening so she could run off in the direction of the woods.

With one last shout of, "Come and get me!" to make sure all their attention was on her she let out a battle cry and took off running.

Dodging a stumbling man with his intestines trailing behind him she slammed the blade in her left hand through his head and spun around the opposite way to give herself the leverage to pull the blade free while at the same time allowing the blade in her right hand to find purchase in the neck of a walker just behind him.

Continuing on her way she jumped over a crawler, but miscalculated her landing and wound up slipping in a pile of some unidentifiable organs. Before she hit the ground she dropped the machete in her right hand so she could reach out and catch herself on the closest thing she could find, which just so happened to be another walker.

As she pushed herself away the creature reached out in return and tried to grab onto her, its fingers snagging in the material and tearing a jagged hole across the stomach of her shirt. Shoving herself backwards she tossed her remaining machete into her right hand and stabbed the walker straight through its open mouth, breathing a sigh of relief when it sank to the ground unmoving.

Before she started running again she considered going after her other weapon, but quickly squashed the idea. As attached as she was to the thing she wasn't about to risk her life for it.

Since the closest walkers to her had all been dealt with Chelsea picked up the pace and, making as much noise as she dared, lured the group into the forest behind her.

Leading them this way and that she headed deep enough into the woods to prevent them from following her out at anything other than a snail's pace. Five minutes passed, then ten, and she glanced back to see how her followers were faring. They were just far enough away that while she could still see them they weren't an immediate threat so she decided it was time to ditch them and head back to the meet-up place.

Ducking between two trees she came screeching to a halt when a walker suddenly appeared in front of her. Knocking it to the ground she quickly ended its existence before glancing about anxiously. It only took a moment for her to confirm her fears.

While she'd been leading the group behind her away from the road _another_ group had been closing in from somewhere nearby. The addition of twenty or so more walkers had her cursing her luck, but thankfully the majority of them were still far enough away to give her a decent chance of escape.

Shoving her machete back into her belt she took off running using her now free hands to clear the branches that attempted to slow her down aside.

Ignoring the moans she could hear trailing after her she pressed on, calling forth every ounce of strength she had left to force herself to go faster. Jumping over fallen trees and ducking under branches she pushed herself even harder and when she finally allowed herself to look back a few minutes later she was pleased to see that both groups had fallen even farther behind.

Knowing she wasn't safe yet she maintained her hard pace and continued to duck and dodge around obstacles as the darkened area around her slowly gave way to the fading daylight beyond the trees.

The instant her feet hit the asphalt she found a new burst of energy and she took off down the road at a pace that left her feet pounding and her lungs on fire.

Knowing the walkers were following her towards the clearing, their moans were growing louder as each second ticked by, Chelsea ran on certain that the van had to be nearby.

After what felt like hours she finally spotted the familiar vehicle around a bend and she waved her arm above her head as she closed in on it to try and get their attention.

Daryl, who'd been nervously glancing from one window to another the entire time they'd been idling in their chosen spot in the middle of the road, caught sight of the waving body behind him and spun around in his seat to get a better look.

"It's Chelsea!" Aaron cried when he spotted her a moment later. "Get this things star-." Cutting himself off when the engine roared to life he pushed open the side door behind him as Chelsea came racing closer.

Seeing the opening Chelsea dove inside and slammed the door shut behind her while chanting, "Go, go, go!"

Not needing to be told twice Daryl dropped it into gear and pressed the pedal to the floor causing the tires to squeal as the van took off down the road.

Leaning back in the seat Chelsea closed her eyes and took several gasping breaths as she attempted to slow her breathing. It felt like she'd been running for days and she decided right then and there that she was going to start a rigorous training regimen as soon as she got back home.

Aaron looked her over as she sat there with her chest heaving and her eyes tightly shut, searching for any wounds or signs of damage. The first thing he noticed was the blood dripping from a small cut on her forehead, but that was so small as to barely warrant a second glance.

There was also a tear in her shirt over her stomach, but as there didn't seem to be any blood on the fabric he moved past that as well to settle on her leg where there was what appeared to be a bite mark on her calf.

Reaching around his chair he grabbed her right leg and began tearing at the denim covering it, causing the van to swerve to the right as he shoved Daryl to the side in his haste. "No, no, no," he cried, his voice filled with terror as he forced the bloodied article up towards her knee. "Please no."

"The hell's goin' on back there?" Daryl demanded as his eyes jerked back and forth between the road in front of him and the commotion behind. The panic he could here in Aaron's voice had him wanting to pull over, but they hadn't gotten far enough away yet so he forced himself to keep the vehicle on the road.

"What's gotten into you?" Chelsea asked in confusion as she tried to pull her leg free from Aaron's grasp only to have it yanked back twice as hard.

"Dear god, no," and "Please let me be wrong," fell from his lips as he finally managed to shove her pant leg past her knee. Seeing nothing but slightly tanned skin Aaron felt all his strength leave him as he gently ran his fingers over the area.

When silence fell over the backseat Daryl repeated his question with even more force. "Explain, now!"

Chelsea looked down at Aaron who was pressed between the two front seats with his head resting against her leg and she lifted her hand up so she could run her fingers soothingly through his hair. "Hey, it's okay," she said softly. "I'm fine."

Feeling his nod against her skin she looked up and caught Daryl's eye in the review mirror. Not wanting to voice out loud the real reason behind Aaron's behavior she grinned cheekily instead. "Our friend here seems to be a bit sexually frustrated," she joked. "We should probably get him back before he decides that maybe he's not really that gay after all."

Aaron let out something that sounded like a cross between a whimper and a laugh and forced himself up so he could attempt to return to his seat without injuring his ankle anymore than he already had.

Not entirely sure what she meant by her statement Daryl glanced back over his shoulder and caught sight of Chelsea pulling her pant leg back down. It didn't take long for him to put two and two together.

Running his eyes over what little he could see of her he raised an eyebrow in question. When she smiled reassuringly he released the breath he hadn't been aware he'd been holding and allowed himself to turn his attention back to his driving.

ooooo

The trip back to Alexandria seemed to take twice as long as the initial journey, despite the fact that they took the exact same route.

After barely more than an hour of driving they stopped on the side of the road so Chelsea could wrap up Aaron's ankle and get him settled across the bench seat in the back, at which point Daryl refused to get back in the car until he'd taken care of her injuries.

Then of course came the argument of who was going to drive. Aaron was out for obvious reasons so Chelsea decided that seeing as Daryl had already driven for awhile it was her turn. He naturally argued that since she was the one who'd done the most fighting she needed to rest so he was going to continue.

When it became apparent that neither was willing to back down Aaron suggested a coin toss, which Chelsea won, but before she could take the wheel Daryl picked her up and tossed her unceremoniously in the back near Aaron. By the time she'd gotten over her shock they were already back on the road.

The rest of the drive was made in relative silence as Aaron had fallen asleep soon after they'd started up again and Chelsea refused to so much as look at Daryl.

When they finally reached the gate Chelsea nudged Aaron awake as the guard on duty allowed them inside so she could do a quick check of his wrappings. Once she was certain that it wasn't going to come undone when he moved to get out of the van she sat back and watched the houses roll by.

In no time at all the van came to a stop outside of Aaron's place of residence and she opened the door and crawled out, reaching back in to offer Aaron a hand as he shifted his way around to join her.

Eric must've heard them pull up because he was at Aaron's side the moment he stepped out of the vehicle, his arm wrapping protectively around his other half. "Just look at you," he said with a forced smile. "I leave you alone for a day and you go and get yourself all beat up. What am I going to do with you?"

Chelsea pretended not to hear Aaron's very explicit reply and prayed she'd be able to burn the image his words brought on out of her mind.

When the two men turned to head back towards their door she called out, "I'll stop in tomorrow and see how you're doing." Returning their waves she leaned back into the van in search of her pack while muttering, "Jackass," under her breath just loud enough for her intended target to hear it.

Daryl had been watching from his seat as Aaron was transferred inside and gave both men a nod before they disappeared out of sight. He'd considered getting out to help until he'd spotted Eric coming down the walkway. No way was he getting between those two.

Instead he waited for them to get inside before turning around to glare at the woman hanging half inside the vehicle. "Get in," he ordered when he heard her muttering. When she raised her head to glare at him he added seriously, "We need ta talk."

"No, _I_ need to go home," Chelsea snapped as she grabbed the strap of her bag and began to pull it towards her.

Throwing his hands up in frustration he growled. "Why the hell ya gotta be so damn stubborn? Ya never listen!"

Shoving her pack over her shoulder Chelsea narrowed her eyes at him, but to his surprise she kept her mouth shut. Without a word she turned on her heel and stormed off leaving him staring after her in shock.

Climbing out of the van Daryl took off after her only to come to a screeching halt when she spun around and poked him in the chest with her finger.

"Listen? Ha!" she spat, jabbing him harder with each word. "You don't want me to listen, you want me to _obey_! Well sorry mister caveman, this girl ain't rolling over for nobody!"

Staring into her fury filled eyes Daryl opened his mouth to reply before deciding that anything he said in his current mood would probably only make things worse. Coming to a decision he reached out and wrapped his arms around her instead, pulling her tightly against his chest while murmuring, "'m sorry, I ain't tryin' ta make ya feel that way. I just worry 'bout ya."

Huffing out a breath Chelsea stopped fighting against his hold long enough to bite out, "Well newsflash, I'm not some porcelain doll. I can take care of myself. And I sure as hell don't need _you_ deciding what I can and cannot do."

"Yer right," he grudgingly admitted as he allowed his arms to fall to his side and took a couple of steps back. "If I could take it back I would."

Thrown by the unexpected statement Chelsea ran a hand over her face with a sigh. "Look, we both know you'd do it again in a heartbeat so don't pretend otherwise." He shifted guiltily at this and she shook her head before continuing. "But if we're going to continue working together we need to get a couple of things straight. I don't mind you looking out for me, in this day and age it's a good thing to have someone you can trust watching your back, but that doesn't give you the right to make my decisions for me. I am more than capable of deciding what I can and cannot do, and contrary to what you seem to think I _am_ aware of what my body is capable of handling."

When he opened his mouth to cut in she narrowed her eyes. "No, you wait until I'm finished." Pleased at the wide eyed nod she received Chelsea continued. "You can voice your concerns anytime you want and I'll take them under advisement, but if you ever try to pull a stunt like what you did back there again you can be damn sure I'll put you in your place. Is that clear?"

Daryl nodded but refused to look her in the eye and Chelsea couldn't help but feel a bit bad for taking out her frustrations on him like that. He really was only looking out for her and she knew he didn't mean any harm by his actions, but she couldn't allow it to continue. She'd seen the same behavior in Miles when they'd met back up a few months ago and his need to keep her safe, to _take care_ of her, nearly got him killed.

She'd already been through that once, she was _not_ going to let it happen again.

"Hey," she began when he remained silent. "I'm sorry I went off on you like that, but then you did sort of force me into it so I can't take all the blame."

Her voice had taken on a joking tone and Daryl finally lifted his gaze up to meet hers. A part of him wanted to shake her until she came to her senses and accepted his help, but hearing her throw everything back in his face like that he had to admit that he might've taken things just a little too far.

In his defense though when he'd seen her looking like she'd just gotten run over by a bus he hadn't cared about anything other than making sure she was properly cared for. So he'd patched her up and then tried to get her to see reason so she'd sit back and rest.

He should've known better than to argue with her, the moment he did any chance of her taking the backseat willingly flew right out the window. Admittedly, tossing her in the back and rushing to the driver's seat before she knew what was going on was probably not the best of ideas.

Mumbling another, "'m sorry," under his breath he relaxed somewhat when she smiled up at him.

"Let's just forget it and move on." And then to make sure he understood that she wasn't mad at him anymore she added, "Besides, now that you know I'll kick your ass if you ever try anything like that again we're all good." Grinning wider when a smile tugged at his lips Chelsea covered a yawn behind her hand. "And on that note I think it's time for us to part ways. I'll see you later hunter boy, enjoy the rest of your night."

Returning her wave Daryl headed back over to the van so he could return it before heading back home.

As soon as that first yawn passed her lips Chelsea found herself fading fast and by the time she reached the front door of the house she shared with her brother and niece she was practically dead on her feet.

Pushing the door open she dropped her pack on the floor, kicked off her shoes and tossed her jacket into the corner. The light was still on in the living room and she forced herself to take the few extra steps in that direction so she could let her family know she had returned.

To her surprise Miles and Natalie were sprawled out on the couch fast asleep and she smiled at the adorable image the two of them made. Sneaking in the last few feet she grabbed the blanket at their feet and spread it back over their sleeping forms.

Leaning over she whispered, "I'm home," before kissing them both gently on the forehead.

As she turned to leave she heard a mumbled, "Everything okay?" and she paused in her retreat.

"Everything's fine," she replied softly. "Get some sleep; I'll see you both in the morning."

"Night sis."

"Goodnight."

When the snores resumed Chelsea crept quietly out of the room and tiptoed up the stairs where a hot shower and a nice comfy bed awaited her.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own The Walking Dead or anything affiliated with said series.

* * *

The next few months passed quickly and the family of three found themselves settling quite nicely into Alexandria. Miles, having finally been given a job to do, had all but taken over the community's recordkeeping. He kept track of everything from supplies to what he jokingly referred to as 'insurance claims'. Deanna wasn't too happy about the title he'd given to all things damaged within the walls, but the residents seemed to enjoy the sense of normalcy the term brought to their everyday lives so she'd grudgingly allowed it.

Chelsea had made several more recruiting trips during that time, once Aaron had been cleared for duty of course, and though Miles still wasn't thrilled with her leaving every few weeks or so to go off searching for new people to join their little community, he'd become far more accepting the more time he spent with Rena.

Every time he heard one of her horror stories about her life before Alexandria it made him that much prouder of what Chelsea was out there doing. Sure it was dangerous, but he knew from experience that she could more than take care of herself. Plus she always had Aaron out there with her which helped ease his mind immensely. The man may not be what he'd call a 'skilled fighter', preferring peace over violence, but he trusted him to have his sister's back no matter what.

He'd even come to respect Daryl. The man was a great shot and damn good with a knife so he knew Chelsea was in good hands when they went outside the gates. While he'd really prefer to be the one watching out for her, at least he didn't have to worry quite so much so long as those two were around.

ooooo

Miles had been in the process of opening the fridge door when he heard the sound of footsteps on the porch. When the front door was flung open and Chelsea stomped in he rolled his eyes and prepared for what he knew was coming.

"Hey sis, welcome home," he said as he went to join her in the entryway. "How was your trip?"

"It was just fine until that asshole decided to get his panties in a twist," she snapped. Kicking off her shoes she dumped her backpack on the ground and took off in the direction of the stairs.

Doing a mental countdown Miles managed to make it to three before Daryl came storming inside. "I take it you two had another disagreement."

"Damn woman walked inta tha middle of an unknown group _alone_!" he growled. "Coulda gotten herself hurt, or worse!"

Having heard something similar several times before Miles simply shrugged. "You know as well as I do that she can take care of herself."

"Ain't the point! She shouldn't be so reckless!"

"Well I'll just leave you two alone to work things out," Miles said as he slipped on his shoes. This kind of thing happened practically every trip; Chelsea would do something Daryl didn't agree with and when they got back the two of them would argue until Daryl calmed down enough for them to talk it out properly.

Miles had started thinking of it as foreplay for the two of them and even had bets going with some of the other residents about when they would finally get around to hooking up. Not that he liked the idea of his sister sleeping with anyone mind you, but with the way those two fought he figured it was only a matter of time before they either slept with, or killed, each other.

As he watched Daryl take the stairs two at a time he figured today would be a good day to give them some extra time. The other man looked far more pissed off than usual and he couldn't help but wonder what exactly his sister had gotten herself into that had the usually calm man that wound up.

With a shake of his head he closed the door and headed down the street to see if he could join Rena and the gang for dinner since Natalie was at a friend's house for the night. He'd talk with Aaron in the morning and get the story from him before deciding whose side to take this time.

As he approached her bedroom door Daryl took a deep breath before knocking and letting himself in. Chelsea had her back to him and was in the process of digging through her closet for a clean shirt when he cleared his throat to get her attention. "We need ta talk."

"I'm pretty sure I said everything I wanted to say back at the rec center," she said without pausing in her search. "What _you_ need to do is get the hell out of here before I kick your ass."

Running a hand through his hair he growled in frustration. It was bad enough that she put herself into situations like that to begin with, but to brush off his concern on top of it was going too far. "I ain't goin' nowhere 'til I get it through yer head that ya don't gotta do this shit alone!"

"I didn't _do_ anything," she snapped, finally pulling her head out of the closet to glare at him. "Aaron sent me in there because I look the least menacing out of the three of us; he thought it would make things easier. If you want to be mad at someone be mad at him, it was his idea!"

"Ya didn't have ta agree ta it!"

"Why wouldn't I? It was a sound plan, or at least it would've been if those guys hadn't been complete wackjobs. If you'd gone in it would've turned into a free for all before anyone had a chance to speak and Aaron had a point about most men not thinking of a woman as a serious threat. So tell me, other than _you_ not wanting me to go in there, what exactly is your problem?"

Opening his mouth Daryl paused with a frown. It had seemed so logical at the time to be furious with her for walking into what had turned out to be a trap, but when she put it that way he was forced to agree with her. Aaron's idea had been good, and they'd planned for situations like the one they'd encountered so it wasn't like they had been in any serious trouble, so why the hell was he so upset?

"Look, I'm beat and would really like to wash the filth from the last few days off so if you've got nothing more to say I think it's time for you to leave."

When she crossed her arms over her chest Daryl watched as it pulled her shirt up enough to show the scar from where she'd been shot, as well as a darkening bruise in the shape of what appeared to be fingers. Seeing red he was across the room in seconds, his hand lifting the hem of her shirt higher so he could get a better look at the injury.

"The hell are you doing?!" she demanded as she slapped his hand aside. "Get your hands off me!"

"This from one of 'em?"

Daryl's voice had turned steely and Chelsea raised an eyebrow at his slightly shaking form. "No, I ran into a wall. Of course it was one of those jackasses," she replied sarcastically. "Remember that guy who grabbed me in the beginning? Yeah, he wasn't exactly being gentle when he was shoving me around."

"No one . . ." Daryl began and she looked at him curiously. "No one touches ya."

"It's no big deal; it'll be gone in a few days."

"I don't think ya understand," he growled lowly. "No one is allowed ta touch ya 'cept me!"

Any thought of brushing off his comment, or more likely slapping him for it, went flying out the window when he shoved her up against the wall and pressed his lips against hers. Frozen in place she stood there with wide eyes as her mind tried to catch up with what was happening. A few seconds later her shock wore off and she wrapped her arms around his neck so she could pull him closer and return the kiss in earnest.

He hadn't planned on acting on his feelings, hadn't really been sure he had any beyond attraction to be honest, but seeing the mark of someone else's hand on her body made him snap. She was his, and in that moment he needed to make sure she knew who she belonged to.

It hadn't even occurred to him at the time that staking his claim and forcing himself on her was probably not the smartest of moves, but seeing as she was currently welcoming his tongue into her mouth with a moan of pleasure he figured she wasn't all that upset about it.

Pulling her head back so she could catch her breath Chelsea felt a blush coloring her cheeks as she kept her eyes locked on the wall across from her. "Um . . ." she began, not entirely sure what she should say as she allowed her arms to fall back to her sides.

Thankfully Daryl saved her the trouble of figuring something out when he took a step back and ran a hand over his face. "'m sorry, didn't mean ta attack ya like that," he mumbled, though he refused to allow her enough space to escape before they had a chance to discuss what had just transpired between them.

While she'd definitely enjoyed the kiss she didn't want him to get the idea that she was no longer upset with him so she cleared her throat before responding. "You should be; that kind of behavior . . ." Whatever else she'd been about to say was cut off when he dove back in for another kiss.

He hadn't meant to kiss her again, really he hadn't. He'd actually been trying to think up some kind of apology that would hopefully not have her trying to cut off a very important part of his anatomy, but having her that close with her chest heaving and her lips swollen and red made it very hard to think of anything other than throwing her down on the bed and ravishing her and in a moment of weakness he'd gone in for one more taste.

When her hand made its way into his hair and she purred against his lips he was gone.

ooooo

When the sunlight came peeking through the curtains the next morning Chelsea burrowed her head deeper into the pillow with a groan. She was warm and comfortable and had no desire to climb out from under her blankets until Natalie forced her up.

Snuggling towards the warmth at her side she froze when she realized where the heat was actually coming from. Jerking her head up she stared down at the shirtless body next to her and barely managed to suppress a scream.

"'s too early, come back ta bed," the sleepy voice next to her mumbled and her face drained of color when an arm snaked out to wrap around her waist.

The hand felt far too comfortable clutching her hip and she pressed her eyes closed as she tried to remember everything that had happened the night before. They'd been arguing, again, and somehow that had led to them making out on her bed. Eventually they'd wound up falling asleep next to each other.

Annoyed that she hadn't moved back down to join him Daryl slowly blinked his eyes open and glanced up at her. "Wha's wrong?" he asked when he saw the frightened look on her face. "Ya okay?"

Without a word Chelsea threw herself backwards out of the bed and bolted from the room leaving him to stare after her with a stunned look on his face.

Frowning at her sudden departure -the look on her face hurt him more than he cared to admit- he slowly climbed out of her bed and, after hunting it down, put on his shirt and grabbed his shoes and socks off the floor. Straightening out the sheets as best he could he ran a hand through his disheveled hair before deciding there was no point in waiting for her to return and making his way downstairs.

When he stepped into the kitchen a short time later he nearly collided with Miles who was racing around gathering items and throwing them into a small bag.

Pausing in his mission Miles eyed Daryl up and down before asking, "So, how hard do I need to punch you?"

Taking a step back, the look in the other man's eyes said he was dead serious, Daryl held his hands up in front of him. "Now hold on a sec, what'd I do ta ya?"

"You made my sister cry."

It was silent for a moment and Miles watched as several different emotions flashed across Daryl's face. First there was confusion, then sadness, and finally resignation. Shaking his head he pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered several choice words under his breath before releasing a sigh and pointing to an empty chair. "Take a seat; I think we need to talk."

"No offence, but I ain't in tha mood," Daryl replied, his voice devoid of emotion as he turned towards the front door.

Miles narrowed his eyes. "That wasn't a request. Sit."

More exhausted than he could ever remember being Daryl decided to just get it over with and sank into the chair as ordered. "Make it quick."

Taking the seat opposite him Miles got straight to the point. "Am I to assume you didn't actually do anything to hurt Chelsea?" The look Daryl sent his way had him quickly saying, "Okay, okay, stupid question. So, care to tell me what happened then?"

Daryl really had no desire to relive their last moments together, but Miles sounded genuinely curious and he figured it couldn't hurt to get it off his chest. "Everythin' was goin' great," he began slowly, his arms coming up so he could rest his head in his hands. "We made up last night and she let me stay with her . . ." Pausing when he saw narrowed eyes zero in on him he hastily added, "Just ta sleep, I swear!"

Seeing as he had been the one to ask in the first place Miles reigned in his overprotective nature and motioned for him to continue.

"Then this mornin' she up and freaks out. No explanation, nothin'. Just bolts as soon as she wakes up. I mean I thought we . . ." Trailing off he rubbed the back of his neck in frustration and asked, "Can I go now or are ya gonna ask me ta talk 'bout some other painful memory?"

Looking up at the ceiling Miles shook his head while mumbling, "Damn, so it wasn't just sexual tension after all. I was afraid of that." Clearing his throat he turned his attention back to the man across from him and said seriously, "You can, but I really think you should hear me out before you leave."

When he remained seated Miles leaned back in his chair and tilted his head so he could look out the window before speaking. "Back in college Chelsea met this man named Bryce and they started going out. He was a nice guy; had a decent job, got good grades and treated her well . . . at least that's what everyone thought. About a year into their relationship they got engaged and that's when things took a turn for the worse. I didn't know it at the time, but as soon as that ring was on her finger he started to get possessive. He'd call her all the time, demand to know where she was and who she was with, and even went so far as tracking her phone."

Closing his eyes as the memories came back Miles took a deep breath before continuing. "And then it started to get really bad. I never saw any proof that he abused her, not physically anyway, but that man took over her life in every possible way. Hell, she wouldn't even hang out with me and play video games anymore for fear of inciting his wrath. It got to the point where she hardly ever left the apartment she shared with him and when she did she was never allowed to be more than an arm's reach away from him."

"Unfortunately, by the time any of us realized what was going on she was so far under his spell that I feared she'd never break free. And then one day, just like that, she snapped. I don't know what happened, and honestly I'm afraid to ask because I don't know what I'd do if she told me, but that day she came back home to us as if nothing had happened." Pausing, he ran a hand over his face as if trying to erase the memories in his head.

"She said the two of them had broken up and that was the last time she ever mentioned him, but from that day on it was obvious that she'd changed. The cheerful, carefree sister I used to know was gone and in her place was someone overly protective and extremely driven. She swore off love and took it upon herself to take care of all of us even though we were more than capable of doing so ourselves, and she's been that way ever since."

"Now I'm not saying this to excuse her actions, but try to understand where she's coming from. As far as I know you're the first person she's truly cared for since then and I'm guessing the thought of that terrifies her. Should she have taken off on you like that, no, but don't give up on her because she's too much of a chicken to own up to her own feelings."

Daryl sat there silently and let everything he'd just heard sink in before finally muttering, "I ain't ever gonna hurt her, she knows that."

"I'm sure she does, but that doesn't change the fact that for her love is something reserved exclusively for family. It's going to take her awhile to get past the fear of _really_ letting someone else in so you'll just have to be patient with her."

Feeling slightly better than he had when he'd come downstairs now that he had a better understanding of things, Daryl tipped his head and muttered his thanks as he rose to his feet. When he made to move towards the door Miles' voice stopped him in his tracks.

"I only told you all that because I think that you could be good for her. But mark my words, if you do anything, and I do mean _anything,_ to hurt her I will take great pleasure in tearing you apart piece by piece and feeding you to the zombies outside."

With a nod of acknowledgment Daryl waited until he heard the other man resume his wandering of the kitchen before continuing on his way to the door. At first he'd planned on heading home and drowning his sorrows in that bottle of whiskey Carol kept for special occasions, but after hearing about her troubled past he decided to find Chelsea so they could have a little chat.

He would respect her wishes and give her time if that was what she wanted, but first he needed to make sure that this _thing_ between them was real and that she truly wanted to see if it could go somewhere. If not and she wanted to go back to being just friends he would accept that, and hopefully they could put last night behind them and move on.

Either way he needed to know where they stood with each other before he did something they would probably both regret.

ooooo

After fleeing her bedroom Chelsea raced down the stairs and tugged on her shoes and jacket, the only thought in her head being that she needed to get as far away from Daryl as possible. As she was opening the door Miles poked his head out of the kitchen and she briefly caught his eye before slipping outside. The worried look on his face almost had her turning around to explain, but there was no way she could handle going back inside. Not yet.

Letting her feet lead the way she angrily wiped the tear streaks off her cheeks as her mind played her little meltdown over and over in her head. With a cry of frustration she yanked on her hair in a futile attempt to make the images stop. Instead, not only did they continue, but scenes from the night before joined in as well.

Surprisingly enough their make-out session hadn't lasted for very long, Daryl claiming they both needed to get some rest and that they'd have plenty of time to continue things later. She'd been tempted to argue with him about it, but she'd been beyond exhausted so it hadn't taken much to convince her to curl up on the bed with him.

Once they'd both gotten comfortable she vaguely remembered him kissing the top of her head and murmuring something softly into her hair before drifting off to sleep in his arms.

It had been an amazing night and she'd slept better than she had in a long time.

And then she'd woken up.

Finding him in her bed had been a bit of a shock at first, but that wasn't what sent her over the edge. No, it was when she remembered the way he'd held her and whispered those three damning words that brought back all the painful memories she'd long since buried.

It had been years since she'd thought about that asshole, but as she sat there staring down at Daryl and replaying everything that had happened between them suddenly it was like she was back in that two bedroom apartment being suffocated by _him_.

So she did the only thing she could think of, she ran.

Of course now that her head was clearing it was obvious that they were completely different and that Daryl would never do anything like that to her, but at that moment she'd reverted back to her old self, that pitiful person who'd always walked one step behind her _master_ and never once tried to stand up for anything.

That wasn't someone she would _ever_ allow herself to become again.

Stopping next to a nearby tree Chelsea leaned back against it and closed her eyes while taking several calming breaths to steady herself. She hadn't felt that weak and powerless in a very long time and it left her more than a little raw.

This was why she never allowed anyone to get close to her; she couldn't run the risk of falling into another trap because the next time she might not be strong enough to break free.

Shaking her head to dispel it of those particular thoughts she couldn't stop the small shudder that ran through her. There were some things she never wanted to think about and that day was at the top of the list.

It took a couple more deep breaths before she finally felt stable enough to open her eyes and push herself away from the tree, but the moment she did she caught sight of the last person she wanted to see right then.

And he was making his way straight towards her.

ooooo

Daryl hadn't had to go far to find his target, she'd only gone a couple of houses down the street, but when his eyes met hers he found himself frozen in place. She looked like a cornered animal -tiny, helpless and terrified- and he was torn between wanting to rush over there and pull her into his arms until she stopped shaking, and needing to find whoever made her feel that way and rip his throat out.

When the thought that _he_ might actually be the cause of it passed through his mind he barely managed to stop himself from falling to his knees in the middle of the street.

Chelsea had been ready to flee when she saw him approach her, but before she could convince her legs to move Daryl stopped dead and she found herself caught up in the emotions flashing across his face. There was worry closely followed by anger, but those were both soon replaced with anguish and she took a step in his direction without thinking.

No words were spoken as she slowly made her way to his side and once she was close enough she reached out and wrapped her arms around his shoulders so she could pull him towards her. "I'm sorry," she murmured softly.

Between the trembling arms holding him and the heartfelt apology Daryl found himself pulled from the abyss he'd fallen into and he returned her embrace with fervor. He could feel wetness on his cheek and he raised his hand so he could cradle the back of her head as she stood there shaking against him. "Shh, 's okay," he whispered into her hair.

They stood quietly holding each other for several minutes until Chelsea untangled herself from his grasp and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I think we should talk," she said after clearing her throat so she could speak without her voice shaking. When she noticed the people milling about she added, "In private."

Nodding, Daryl took her hand and started leading her to the one place in Alexandria where they would both feel comfortable . . . the garage.

Allowing herself to be pulled along Chelsea felt a smile form on her face when she realized where he was taking her. At first she thought he'd take her back home, but she could understand his need for neutral territory right now. Sure it was his place, but she'd spent so much time there lately that everyone had started thinking of it as 'theirs'.

That word hadn't bothered her before, back when she'd squashed any romantic feelings she may have felt for him in favor of being his friend, but the closer they got to their destination the more ominous it began to sound.

Now, with everything that had happened between them, she knew that things would never be able to go back to the way they were. Once they stepped through that door that would be it and she wasn't sure she was strong enough to handle what was coming.

Daryl pushed open the side door when they reached their destination and ushered Chelsea inside. Motioning for her to take the only available crate he leaned back against the tool bench and crossed his arms over his chest while he waited for her to take a seat.

Sinking down onto her makeshift chair Chelsea buried her face in her hands and forced herself to slowly count backwards from ten. It didn't exactly make her feel any better, but at least her heart no longer felt like it was going to beat out of her chest.

With one final deep breath she allowed her hands to fall into her lap and looked up to find Daryl watching her intently. "So," she began hesitantly. "I guess I owe you an explanation, huh." Dropping her eyes to the ground she started twisting her fingers together to give herself something to focus on other than the words that were about to come out of her mouth.

Before she could continue Daryl cut in. "Yer brother told me 'bout that bastard ya use ta date so there's no need for ya ta talk 'bout 'im . . . unless ya want ta."

"He had no right!" Chelsea snapped without thinking and was on her feet ready to head home and beat him to within an inch of his life for telling something so personal to someone else without her permission, but Daryl's hand on her arm held her in place.

"Ya should be thankin' 'im. If he hadn't said nothin' I woulda left thinkin' ya took off 'causa me; that I did somethin' wrong and ya were mad at me."

Frowning at the pain she could hear in his voice Chelsea grabbed his hand and took it in hers. "Is that really what you thought? That I ran because I was upset with you?" He didn't have to answer, the look on his face said it all, and she pulled him back into her arms to comfort him. "I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to make you feel that way."

Stepping back far enough so she could look him in the eye she reached up and trailed her fingers down the side of his face. "You did nothing wrong, nothing at all. You hear me? I ran because I couldn't handle all the feelings I was suddenly forced to deal with, not because of anything you did. It was me, not you. Got it?"

Nodding, Daryl leaned forward and touched his forehead to hers and was about to ask exactly which _feelings_ she was referring to when she pushed him back and stepped out of his reach.

"Thank you for being so understanding. I know it'll be awkward between us from now on and I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to see me again, but before I go I just want to tell you how much your friendship has meant to me. It's been a long time since I had someone other than family I could truly be myself around and for that I'll forever be grateful." Forcing a smile onto her face she choked out a final farewell. "I wish you a long and happy life, goodbye hunter boy."

Stunned into silence Daryl watched in disbelief as she turned around and made her way to the door. One minute she's talking about feelings and the next she's telling him goodbye; needless to say he was more than a bit confused.

The one thing he did know, however, was that this time he wasn't going to let her get away.

Grabbing her before she could step outside he spun her around and pinned her back against the wall. "Now wait one goddamn minute," he growled. "Tha hell ya think yer doin' leavin' like that?"

Refusing to meet his eyes Chelsea squared her shoulders and snapped back, "Look, I know we can't be friends anymore so I was just trying to leave before things got any worse between us. I didn't want the good memories of our time together to be overshadowed by a nasty breakup."

"Who said anythin' 'bout a breakup?" Daryl demanded. "I don't recall sayin' anythin' of tha sort."

"It's obvious we can't be just friends anymore, not after last night," Chelsea bit out angrily. "And I doubt you're the type of person who'd be satisfied with a purely physical relationship so that doesn't leave us with any other option!"

She was stubborn he'd give her that, and had it been anyone else he probably would've accepted the answer and gone on his way. But there was no way in hell he was giving her up without a fight, not after everything they'd been through.

Stepping in closer so he was standing a hairsbreadth away from her body he placed his hands on either side of her head to cage her in. "I get ya had a bad experience, but I ain't gonna give ya up just 'cause ya say so. We can take it as slow as ya need and I promise I ain't ever gonna pressure ya inta nothin'. I'll take whatever yer willin' to give, just please . . . don't push me away."

His last words had been breathed against her ear and Chelsea sucked in some much needed air as the world seemed to close in around her. "I can't," she finally choked out. "You don't understand, I can't go through that again! I won't! The pain, the fear . . . I barely survived last time!"

"I ain't gonna let nothin' happen ta ya."

"That's exactly what he used to say. But you know what, he lied. And if he did so can you!" Burying her head in his chest Chelsea gripped his shirt like her life depended on it. "He told me that he loved me, promised he'd cherish and protect me, but instead he kept me tied up so he could act out his sick, twisted fantasies whenever he wanted! I never complained because I loved him and wanted to make him happy, but each day I died a little more inside until finally I couldn't take it anymore. When he came home one day I bashed his head against the wall until he stopped moving and then I walked away and never looked back. I made a promise to myself back then that no matter what I would never allow another person to have that much control over me again!"

Holding her tightly Daryl swallowed thickly. What Miles had told him had been bad enough, but to find out that what he'd heard had only been the tip of the iceberg had him itching to tear the bastard apart. No wonder she reacted the way she had when things escalated between them. If that was what she had to go on for past experiences he could understand her wanting to run away. That kind of thing would make anyone shy away from relationships.

But that didn't change the fact that he still wanted her. If anything it only made him want her more. Not only so he could prevent it from ever happening to her again, but also so he could show her what love truly is.

Moving back far enough to give her space but not so much that she could escape he lifted her chin with his finger and waited until her eyes met his. "Listen, I . . . care 'bout ya a lot and I ain't gonna do nothin' ta make ya uncomfortable. If ya need ta go on thinkin' there ain't nothin' special between us that's fine, I ain't gonna force ya ta admit somethin' ya ain't ready for, but if ya think I'm just gonna walk away yer outta yer damn mind. Yer stuck with me now whether ya like it or not."

Chelsea took a shaky breath before sadly replying, "I can't give you what you want."

"Then I'll wait 'til ya can." When she opened her mouth to speak Daryl smirked and added, "But don't expect me ta keep my distance 'til then 'cause that ain't gonna happen. Tha two of us got some unfinished business and I plan ta finish what we started tha next chance I get."

Blushing slightly at the look on his face Chelsea swatted his hand away and pushed him out of her personal space. "Keep dreaming hunter boy," she said, attempting to keep her voice nonchalant. "You managed to catch me in a moment of weakness; it won't happen again."

"That right?"

Looking far too innocent he stepped over to the door and Chelsea eyed him suspiciously as he motioned for her to go before him. Watching his hands closely she failed to notice him lean down until after his lips had already made contact with her neck.

"In that case I'll just have ta be more darin'," he said with a cheeky grin as he ducked past her and took off across the street.

Sliding her fingers over the spot he'd kissed she shook her head at his behavior before looking up at the sky searchingly. She'd tried to save him from heartache, but he'd refused to back down no matter what she did. Now she had no choice but to see this through until the end, she owed him that much.

She only hoped that when all was said and done he didn't hate her for it.

Catching movement out of the corner of her eye Chelsea glanced over towards it and spotted Daryl waving to her from his front porch. Returning it with one of her own she felt her heart flutter at the smile he sent her way and her eyes went wide as she waited for the familiar feelings of terror and despair to wash over her.

Only this time nothing came.

Watching in shock as he disappeared inside she collapsed back against the side of the house behind her. For the first time in a very long time she felt something akin to love and it didn't make her want to crawl under a rock and hide, quite the opposite in fact.

Raising her face skyward once more she closed her eyes and allowed a true smile to grace her lips. Maybe, just maybe, there could be a future for them after all.


End file.
